Dragontamers: I Said I Would
by Felicia Angel
Summary: 2nd in the Series: Yugi and the group head to Duelist Kingdom in order to rescue Yugi's grandfather. While there, Jounouchi realizes how messed up her feelings are for Kaiba, while trying to also give Yami and Yugi some help. future puppy & puzzle
1. Pegasus J Crawford

Disclaimer: Still don't own them.

Yes, the next one is me taking on Duelist Kingdom, mainly the manga version, because I really don't think a huge dueling field is the smartest thing, but the boxes are more realistic and so I'm keeping them.

Warnings: foul language, violence, implied pairings (yujou, dragon, slight-barely-there polar, puppy)

**Dragon Tamers: I Said I Would**

_Part 1: Pegasus J. Crawford_

The truth was she wasn't that good at Duel Monsters, but the second part of that was that she hadn't put much thought into her deck other then strong monsters should win.

They didn't.

She sighed as she lost to Mazaki and looked over at Yugi. "You gotta tell me what I'm doing wrong."

"Well, can I see your deck?"

She nodded and handed it over. He slowly went through and she had to admit that it was almost comical to see the expression on his face change from what could most certainly be bad to worse.

"Jounouchi…these are all monster cards."

"Yeah, I haven't seen any good magic ones, and so I put in the strongest monsters I could find."

"Well, that's not good. Most of the strategy is combining magic and monster cards. If you only have monsters your opponent can easily evade your attacks."

Considering what Mazaki had done the last game, she would have to say he was right.

"Damn," she said, accepting the deck back, "Well, do you have any good cards you could give me, or could you at least teach me how to play better then I'm already doing?"

Yugi nodded and then said, "Come with me to my house tonight. My grandpa's gonna watch the Duel Monster tournament that they have between the East and West Japanese champions."

* * *

Mazaki and Honda came up, obviously interested as well. Bakura looked over and said that he was going to watch it on his own home television and also he had to still catch up on some of the homework he missed while sick from being possessed by his other side.

"You study too much," she told him, "Come on…"

"Sorry, but I have too much homework."

Jounouchi sighed and Bakura gave her a smile. "Maybe if you studied harder, you'd get better grades."

Jounouchi shrugged. "Maybe. Sad to say I don't study hard and I don't get good grades. There's a job out there for me, though, I know it."

"Jounouchi, that's a bad way to look at life," Mazaki chided.

"Yeah, well, it's my way of looking at life, so deal with it."

They had gone to the Kame Game Shop just as Mutou-san was closing up early and he smiled at the group. They came in and each got their favorite soda while it turned out Yugi had gotten a box with no return address earlier today in the mail. Yugi seemed curious but put it aside to open after the tournament.

They gathered around the TV to see who would come up and Mazaki questioned Yugi as to why he didn't participate in the duel when he could have obviously won.

"I promised myself," he told them, "that I won't duel again until I can fight _him _fair and square."

They were quiet and Jounouchi, knowing from their conversations, said simply, "You mean Kaiba."

Yugi nodded, his eyes downcast. "He's still in a coma, though…"

Jounouchi looked over, remembering Kaiba's face and finally said viciously, "I wouldn't trust him even if he came out of the coma. He was a lying bastard before, he probably will be still."

"You don't know that for sure, Jounouchi," Mazaki pointed out, "Didn't the other Yugi say that he was trying to make things right inside of himself again?"

"Just because you 'make things right' doesn't erase what happened to you before that turned you into the bastard you were," Jounouchi argued back, "and I don't care if he spouts he undying devotion to Yugi and kisses my ass, I still wouldn't trust him."

"Both of you be quiet," Mutou-san said, "the show is starting."

The fight stopped as they watched the announcement and the two duelist came out. Both were about their age, maybe less, one calling himself 'Dinosaur' Ryuzaki and the other 'Insector' Haga.

They watched them enter into the box that looked a lot like the one Kaiba had dueled Mutou-san and Yugi in, and got their decks ready.

Jounouchi looked over at Yugi and asked who he thought would win.

"Well, Dinosaur Ryuzaki uses mainly those cards, dinosaur cards, while Insector Haga uses mainly insects and combos."

"Well, strength wise, I'd say that the Dinosaur guy will win."

"You never know…"

They watched as the two duelist went at it, and it turned out Yugi was right when Insector Haga kicked the Dinosaur's ass and handed it back to him on a silver platter. The prize, as it turned out, was handed to Insector by a special guest, the creator of Duel Monsters, an American with white hair that came down, one part over his left eye, and he spoke in a weird accent as he gave Insector the trophy and said something in Japanese about how proud he was and that there was a new something-or-other about to go on somewhere. Either way the battle was won and Jounouchi had to admit that Yugi was good at picking the winner, almost as good as he was at games.

The two pulled out their cards, deciding to now build a little more of Jounouchi's deck before Mutou-san pointed out that Yugi still hadn't opened the box which came for him.

"Oh, yeah, we can play after that…"

She smiled at him and nodded, "I want to see what's in it anyway."

Inside of the box was a glove of some sort without fingers and a bracelet with ten star-shaped holes, two chips that looked like they belonged in those holes, and a video. The group was even more confused. Jounouchi picked it up and shrugged. "I guess the answer is on the video…"

Luckily Yugi had an 8mm video player, and after a quick bought of static, a face appeared, saying in the oddly accented Japanese, "Ah, Yugi-boy, how nice to see you!"

"Isn't that the guy who created Duel Monsters?" Jounouchi said, as surprised as Yugi at seeing the man on Yugi's TV screen sending a video-letter to him.

The only thing which annoyed her was that the guy kept referring to Yugi and Kaiba (or at least the one time he said anything about Kaiba) as '-boy'. Really, how childish…

Yugi built up his deck in front of the TV and then they began to play. Yugi pulled out the Devil Dragon, and Pegasus guessed it, then used something called a 'Dragon Clan Sealing Jar' to capture it.

When they saw the card's picture disappear, that's when Jounouchi realized what exactly was going on…

_Oh fuck not again…

* * *

_

Jounouchi was seriously going to track down each person who somehow had a Millennium Item and decided (or didn't…) to use it again Yugi or his friends, and seriously fuck them up.

Pegasus had told Yugi that he couldn't win, and unluckily Yugi had figured out the trick Pegasus was using in the video a little too late. Plus, the cheat kept pulling out either ultra-rare or newly-released cards no one had seen, thus Yugi couldn't entirely play fair against them.

The creator of Duel Monsters had told Yugi that if he lost he had to participate in some tournament he was sponsoring. While lots of money seemed nice, the 'something special' had thrown Jounouchi off until the end, when a bright light came from the screen and suddenly Mutou-san had fallen over. When he appeared on the screen…

They had been able to put his body in a hospital, where it could be taken care of, but in the meantime his soul was trapped now in the 8mm video that Pegasus had sent.

So when Bakura came into class early with his overly-enthusiastic 'Ohaiyo' to great them, those who had been present to witness the event weren't up to saying much.

Bakura quickly learned of the situation when Mutou-san looked up and spoke to him.

Jounouchi explained it in her own special way.

"Some lousy cheat challenged Yugi to a game and beat him. The guy had some Millennium Item and used it power to seal Mutou-san in the video."

Bakura's interest perked at Millennium Item, and Yugi seemed slightly depressed, wondering if he could get his grandfather back to normal.

"_Hey, I'm doing fine in here, you shouldn't worry about me_!" Mutou-san told the group.

"Mutou-san, you're stuck in a video. We have to worry," Jounouchi pointed out, "can't be too interesting in there."

Yugi smiled and said, "Well, I'm not too worried, but…the other me is…"

"You've learned how to talk to him?" Mazaki asked.

Yugi shook his head. "Not completely, not unless he contacts me first, but if I close my eyes and concentrate, I can sense what he's feeling."

That seemed right, though she couldn't believe that the other Yugi wouldn't let Yugi in. The spirit was more arrogant, though, and she was sure it wasn't just that he had lost a game that he prided himself at being good at. It was also that someone close to Yugi, specifically Yugi's only blood-relative in the world, was now in a coma and his soul was locked into a video.

"Maybe if you go to the Kingdom," Bakura said, "You'll find out the secret behind the Millennium Items, like my Millennium Ring…" he pulled said offensive item out.

Everyone moved far away from said offensive item. "WHAT THE FUCK?! BAKURA! YOU KNOW HOW DANGEROUS THAT THING IS, WHY DO YOU HAVE IT?" Honda asked.

He usually didn't lose his cool, but Jounouchi guessed it had to do with him not being around something like that. Or maybe the fact that they were put into miniatures last time it was out and around Bakura's neck.

"It's okay," Bakura said, putting the Ring back in his backpack, "as long as I'm not wearing it, it's just a piece of jewelry."

Bakura was saying how he wanted to find out the secrets behind the Millennium Items, and find out why they were made and what for.

Yugi suddenly stood and the group looked at him. He said softly, "I just…well…the other me…need to be alone."

He walked out and Jounouchi guessed it was for the roof. She would let him have his private thoughts, and went back to looking at Bakura.

"Bakura?"

"Yes?"

"Just one question, nothing really."

"What is it, Jounouchi?"

"Why are you carrying a highly-dangerous item like that around in your backpack? Couldn't you just…drop it in the ocean or something?"

"Actually…I tried that…it came back. I figured if I don't want anyone else to get it, I might as well have it near me so no one else gets hurt."

"Uh huh. Listen, maybe if we melt it down…"

"I don't think that will work, and you never know if we could rid it of that spirit and use it for good."

"You're too damned optimistic for your own good, Bakura…"

* * *

When they had gotten to the open area, aibou had allowed him control and had quietly retreated to his Soul Room, allowing the spirit to be alone with his thoughts.

His whole feelings were conflicted. Aibou had began to play and when the game had turned into a Shadow Game, he had pushed Aibou aside quickly, taking over so he could play and deal with the consequences. It wasn't that he didn't feel aibou _couldn't _play a Shadow Game. The closest thing that aibou had ever played was the Dragon Cards that Imori had used to try and destroy aibou's soul so he could have the Puzzle. Aibou had played moderately well, but from his own game afterwards he knew that Imori had tried to make it so that he wouldn't lose and so that he would have aibou at the highest disadvantage he could be at.

Aibou had lost, and his soul had been nearly lost into the jar had the spirit not beaten Imori.

He felt his fists clench at the memory. Aibou had nearly been hurt because of him…the time before, Shadii's threat of rearranging a Soul Room had not been directed at him, but at aibou. He had even used a memory from aibou's past to try and beat the spirit in a Shadow Game. Those didn't directly affect aibou, as he had no memory of them. Shadii's quick visit to his Soul Room was never noticed nor was it mentioned unless aibou directly asked, and he hadn't. The fate which had befallen him after losing to Imori had not been spoken of either, mainly because the dragons had not begun to feed and because his soul had been in there for what would count as less then a second in that world.

But this time…

"PEGASUS!"

He hit the fence and his anger to the white-haired American filled him. Because of who he was, because he had defeated Kaiba twice and because of the Puzzle, he was being targeted. Because he was within aibou, aibou was now a target.

Because of that, aibou's grandfather and friends suffered.

It didn't matter what Anzu, Jounouchi, Honda or even Bakura said, he knew simple cause-and-effect. Because of something he was in the puzzle. Because aibou completed the Puzzle he was within aibou.

Because of that, aibou and his friends would be targeted by those who wanted power, mundane or not.

_I will take your challenge. I will go to Duelist Kingdom, and win back the soul of Ojii-chan._

He wanted to tear something apart, he wanted to find something and hurt it, wanted to beat up someone. He remembered Jounouchi's look whenever people threatened aibou, but especially the two instances where her own darker side came out. The only one he saw where she could be totally ruthless, though, was when Hirutani had tried to kill aibou to make her join his group.

If looks could kill, half of Domino would have been taken out by the glare she had sent to the gang leader.

He was still angry, still wanting to hurt someone and not wanting to do it in aibou's body. He wouldn't allow himself to use aibou's body like that. He had promised himself that long ago.

When he reached the door he allowed his aibou to take back over, and retreated to his own Soul Room, not hearing what Yugi was muttering.

"Mou hitori no boku…onegai…let me help you…"


	2. Shizuka & Conflicts

_Part 2: Shizuka_

The package had been given to her and just as quickly afterwards the group had gathered in the Kame Shop yet again to see what was up for her video, the only difference being that Bakura was there and Mutou-san was in a carrying video player that Yugi had gotten so he could have his grandfather near him.

Before putting in the video, the group looked at the cards Yugi had received that day. One had the day and time for when a ship leaving for Duelist Kingdom, which had to be an island by the picture on it's card, and that the glove and stars would prove you were a duelist. The 'Honor of the King's Right' was great wealth, while the 'Honor of the King's Left' had nothing, which to Jounouchi meant 'nothing good' or 'you'll just have to beat me to find out'. Either way she found a new low, set right after Hirutani and Kaiba (Kaiba-baka being higher then Hirutani-yaro) for Pegasus to be put at before asking if she could watch her video. She was partly worried that maybe Pegasus has sent her one to try and get her to go against Yugi or something, but she couldn't be sure. It, like Yugi's box, had no return address, but the writing had seemed familiar to her…

There was a quick second of static before a face she never thought she'd see again appeared on screen.

_Oh God…Shizuka…_

"Konnichiwa, Onee-chan, how are you? I'm sending you this video so you don't forget what I look like, or at least can see me! It's been a real long time."

Her whole world was focused on that video, the noises being made by those behind her unrecognizable.

The last time she had seen Shizuka was six years ago, when she was ten and Shizuka was six. Her parents had divorced and her mother had chosen to take Shizuka with her and leave Jounouchi with her father. Jounouchi and Shizuka had tried hiding, and were one step away from running to that orphanage nearby but her mother had forced them apart and before father could even come home to say goodbye, both were gone. Jounouchi had run for a block, past the orphanage, and then fallen down to cry.

When she had gotten back home, her father had been worried that her mother had taken her away too, but instead he only got a depressed ten-year-old daughter who wanted to hit her pillow and destroy all of her dresses.

Jounouchi never wore a dress after that day. She had worn one and had destroyed it by falling down. The rest had gone with in a rage that had taken over her for the first time. The rags had been trashed and her father bought her only trousers and boy's outfits.

After Shizuka had left, Jounouchi had only wanted to be a tomboy, so she could be strong and not cry over the fact that her little sister had been taken away from her and she could do nothing about it. She had never wanted to feel that helpless again.

But it had happened, and her anger had returned briefly, and now she had another to watch over, she was one of two who watched over him, anyway.

"Actually," Shizuka continued, "I wanted to see you in person, but we live so far away and…you know how Okaa-san is about visiting…

"But I did want to see your face one last time."

Those words rang in her head and she heard someone saying something to her in her mind, trying to get to her.

She didn't answer, her mind wasn't exactly working right now, all she could do was look at her little sister saying goodbye and her image disappearing.

"Jounouchi?"

Voices came back and Yugi's was the one that stood out, questioning what was wrong and who that girl was.

"My parents divorced six years ago, and she went to live with my mom…but since she was little, she's had problems with her eyes. The doctors say she'll eventually go blind…that message was saying that the doctors--it's finally come."

"But," Bakura said gently, "isn't there a way to fix it?"

Jounouchi nodded. "But there's only a 50 chance, and it costs too much. Even if all of us saved up for years we'd never have that much yen…I can't help her."

Tears welled up in her eyes. "I'm her big sister, and I can't help her!"

A hand was on her shoulder and she turned partly to see the other Yugi giving her a sly smile.

_Know it all grin…_she had come to associate that song with him and his smiles.

"Don't give up, Jounouchi," he told her, handing her the card 'Honor of the King's Right'. "This is the way to get that money."

"What?"

He held out one of the star chips given to him by Pegasus (may he die a horrible sad death). "If these chips are proof you're a duelist, take one of mine and compete with me in Duelist Kingdom! We will win the honors."

"Yugi--."

Not knowing what to say when he was around seemed to be her strong points, but she finally smiled her own smile and nodded. "Okay. We have a week to train, at least, so I'll be ready. We'll do it, Yugi. We'll win this…for my sister, and your grandpa."

* * *

The rest of the group had left to their own houses and she had called her father at work to tell him she would be staying with Yugi. As it was the first day of vacation she told him quickly about the tournament and such as well as the fact that she might just stay over at Yugi's house and then head to the boat. He agreed, said he was proud of her, and then hung up.

She guessed at least half of the men he was indebted to would be calling bets on her skills in dueling and putting any money won up to paying off said debt her father had unluckily collected.

"You don't mind, Mutou-san?" she asked after coming back with a good deal of clothing and all the Duel Monster cards she had collected since first hearing about them.

"_I'm not worried about anything! If you need my help, though, just ask, and I'll give it. Besides, I think Yugi might get lonely._"

"Can I go through the store's Duel Monster cards and get some better ones?"

"_Only if you pay for them._"

"This is going towards your freedom from the video! You should give them to me for free!"

"_I have to make a living, you know!"_

"I'm helping out Yugi, that should count!"

"_Hasn't before…_"

"Has too!"

"_How about half off?_"

She was seriously considering telling Yugi that they should take the money from Pegasus and run. "Fine."

"_Deal._"

Yugi came in, obviously having heard the conversation, and said, "Ojii-chan, can't I just use my allowance to pay for her cards?"

"_Of course._"  
"Oh good, I can get more that way."

"_Huh?"_

"I'm getting them half off for her, right?"

"…"

Jounouchi grinned, "A deal is a deal, Mutou-san."

"_You're a bad influence, Jounouchi Katsuya._"

"I know, but you still love me like your own granddaughter, right?"

_Part 3: Conflicts_

The week they had trained went by in a blur, seeming to blend in with the days as Yugi helped her out with building her deck and with strategy. He had even given her a few cards that he didn't use, and she had been happy to take them.

The other Yugi, whom Yugi had taken to calling 'mou hitori no boku', had not really appeared except maybe quickly, but mostly he seemed to be thinking on what his own strategy was and watching from wherever he watched. Jounouchi was fine with that and didn't press to see him. Her time with Yugi was time enough, she felt, and as she thought on it while they headed to Domino Pier with Mazaki, Honda and Bakura, she realized she had come to think of him as more of a brother, caring for him as she would Shizuka. The few times she had been alone in her room or the few dreams she had had about sex had never completely concerned either him or the spirit: both seemed either too much of a friend for her to ruin it like that and while both had their own qualities that made them attractive, neither were the right guy for her at this point in time.

Who exactly the right guy was, she had yet to completely find. One had come close for her, but it wasn't Hirutani and she wasn't about to dwell on it when she had to think about dueling and saving her sister's sight. Without her sight, she knew her sister would be lost and hopeless, maybe even become depressed and suicidal. Shizuka loved colors and sights, loved to see everything that there was, and her kind soul allowed her to take it all in and seem to soothe the world around her.

They came up to where a large group as well as a huge ocean liner was and paused, noticing all of the people who had been invited. This had included the champion of Japan, Insector Haga, and the runner up, Dinosaur Ryuzaki. The group turned as a man who looked oddly familiar came up and said some pep speech to welcome them to the boat. The group cheered except for one lady, who laughed and called it a 'pep rally'.

She had on a purple jacket and shirt with a bodice lace-up top, golden hair, and a body that was quite possibly the sex-goddess type. Yugi, Honda and Bakura all went red as she turned to look over at them. "My, aren't you Yugi, the one who beat Kaiba? You're kinda short, but either way, you know you're famous, right?"

Yugi's blush got redder and from the looks of Mazaki, possibilities of death were coming for the lady in purple. Jounouchi didn't understand why, Mazaki seemed more interested in Bakura then in Yugi. Maybe it was just her protective side coming up.

"Hey, I'm the friend of the famous Yugi, name's Hon--."

"Cut the crap," Jounouchi said, pushing him away, "she's probably not interested in you, idiot."

"Jounouchi!" Honda sounded hurt.

The woman giggled and smiled at Jounouchi. "Nice to see another girl here too, but don't let that make you comfortable. Anyone who stands in my way gets crushed. Named Kujaku Mai, see you…boys…and Jounouchi."

Yugi and Honda were breathing in the perfume trail left behind while Bakura blinked and stuttered, "She's…something."

Jounouchi and Mazaki rolled their eyes and pulled the other three onto the boat.

* * *

They had gotten the common room, a mainly male portion of the boat where a few people were playing a good-natured game of Duel Monsters. Jounouchi had considered complaining until she saw the cards being traded and went over to see if she could trade some as well, but no one seemed too interested. She had noticed that Haga and Ryuzaki were talking briefly to Yugi before Mai's voice cut through the air, gaining Ryuzaki's notice and she gave him a quick flirt, which seemed to be enough to get him to want to get her back to his room quickly.

_Perv_, she thought at Ryuzaki, and as they sat down and put their packs away she and Yugi played another game of Duel Monsters. She had to admit that maybe this was an advantage, as the only way she was checking to see how strong she could be was by playing one of the best if not the best duelist here.

After one duel and a few tips from Yugi, the two walked out onto the main deck to look out at the water. The whole place was dark and stars had come out above them. Yugi was speaking quietly with his grandfather and then stopped when Haga came up. Jounouchi was paying attention to the water and not really noticing what happened until she saw five cards fall into the ocean. One flipped and showed off the Left Arm of the Forbidden One.

_Yugi's cards…_

Jounouchi was one to think only when necessary. Currently it wasn't, and she dove in, her eyes nearly losing sight of the cards as she hit the water and grabbed the ones that she saw. She ended up only getting two, the rest having floated too far away or having sunk already. Frustrated to no end, she grabbed the life-ring that Bakura had tossed in and was hauled up by the group, seeing that the other Yugi had sprung to life to give Haga death glares and what was apparently a challenge for when they reached the kingdom. Jounouchi was fine with that for the time being, and after getting into her change of clothing and drying herself off as much as she could, she went to bed.

* * *

The next day they reached the island and Jounouchi wished briefly that the ocean wasn't so cold or that she had brought a warmer change of clothing. She especially wished this after sneezing three times in a row.

"I'm sorry," the other Yugi had not let control drop for a moment, it seemed. He probably wanted to challenge all the guys by himself, or maybe Yugi was too depressed and allowing the other side to do it.

She decided to not ask.

"Not your fault, it's all because of the insect," she said, both of them casting a glare in Haga's direction. He was smirking at them and the group of duelists from the ship were lead up to a huge castle. Above them appeared the man who had been on the ship and then right after him came Pegasus.

The anger from Yugi seemed to double as they looked up at the so called 'Duel King' for now, and he told them the rules as well as the fact that they had 48 hours to compete. Once that time was over, only the duelists with ten star chips would be allowed in and the rest would have to leave.

Because of her, though, Yugi only had one star chip and the glove, while she didn't have the glove at all. That meant their first duel would be critical.

Pegasus announced that in an hour the duels would start and so they had to go and get ready.

With that he turned away and walked back into the castle while the group was left to their thoughts.

* * *

An hour later they wandered through the island, noticing that a few people seemed as lost as they were, and finally Jounouchi noticed a sign, pointing the way to the forest and then to the lake.

Yugi said he saw Haga heading to the forest, so the group headed that way until Haga's voice caught their attention and he challenged Yugi to a duel. Still angry at him for the antics on the ship (and because he was an annoying insect anyway), Yugi accepted it and the two walked over to one of the boxes that Kaiba had invented. She didn't care if Pegasus said anything about joining with KaibaCorp to make it up, but she still thought of it as Kaiba's.

She didn't like it too much…

Haga and Yugi took a seat inside of the place, and Haga said he would only bet one star chip, but Yugi argued back.

"I told you I'm taking you out first. Like Ryuzaki said, it's kill or be killed. I'll bet one star chip and my life."

Haga laughed and accepted the challenge before they began to duel. A few of the duelists from nearby gathered to watch and to learn more about the new system so they had some idea, and soon into the duel, Kujaku Mai walked up.

So far it didn't look like okay or all that good for Yugi, though he did seem to sometimes be one step ahead of him.

"That was smooth, but Yugi-chan has only taken a small lead. In Duel Monsters, the tables can turn in just one turn. He's still far from winning."

"Who are you calling 'Yugi-chan'? He's not a child!"

"Um…Mazaki, don't get so protective," Jounouchi said, "she's right anyway, it doesn't matter if Yugi got a lead right now, he could easily fall prey to another one of the insect's combos, or could make a mi--well, either way the insect could possibly get another edge."

"You make it sound like Yugi-chan can't lose," Mai said simply.

"He can't…or anyway he won't." They turned back to where the duel was still going on, "I know he'll win."

Mai said nothing, instead watching with the group.

* * *

She was seriously pissed now, he needed to figure it out! Haga had played a cocoon that couldn't be destroyed it seemed.

"Come on, you have to defeat this insect to win those honors, Yugi, you said you would!"

He looked over at her and she finally said, "Burn down the whole forest if you have to, just defeat it!"

He looked up quickly and then, while Mai was saying how amateurish this was and Mazaki looked ready to kill before they noticed it. Yugi gave Jounouchi a thumbs up and turned back. He had it figured out.

Good, she was really getting tired of it looking like the insect was going to win. He played Curse of Dragon and a spell card which took out the forest, and then Gaia defeated the cocoon, but the moth came out anyway.

_Great._

But despite the attack he still was alive, and then, with only a hundred Life Points left, he took out the moth and the rest of the insect's life points.

Jounouchi and the group cheered out and smiled at this, while Yugi got the two star chips and then the duel glove. "You won't need this," he said as they left and handed it over to Jounouchi. "Here."

She smiled at him and looked over to see that Mai had left. Oh well, wherever she and the others went, it was probably to duel, now realizing some of the rules, and off to find a good place to duel.

* * *

The group smiled at Yugi and Jounouchi turned to head out of the forest. Somewhere behind her, she thought she heard Honda and Mazaki talking about her and her dueling abilities compared to the others.

She sighed and Yugi cast a look at her but then they walked out and she suddenly perked up it seemed. "Hey, look at that view! Come on!"

"Jounouchi, this isn't a field trip!" she heard Mazaki say, but she didn't care, she went over to a ridge and looked out. It was a great view.

A great view…

_Shizuka…_She remembered that she had seen something like this. Right before the divorce, she had taken Shizuka to the seaside, and they had spent the whole day there, chasing waves and building sandcastles. Shizuka had been worried that Mom would punish Jounouchi, but Jounouchi had convinced her not to worry about it, and they had gotten back after dark.

Yugi walked up and talked with her about the possibility of her doing the next match and what she could work with.

Jounouchi knew her cards and said simply, "Well, most of my cards are warrior and beast-warriors, so that would mean that the plains…sogen, right here."

And then they heard a familiar voice.

Kujaku Mai…


	3. Kujaku Mai & Heart's Duel

_Part 4: Kujaku Mai_

She walked over to them and smiled. "So, Yugi, how are your duels going?"

"Fine," was his curt answer. Jounouchi almost shook her head as Mai looked them both over and from the look Yugi was giving her, he knew that she wanted to challenge him.

"Okay, I've decided," she said, "I'm going to duel…you, Jounouchi!"

Everyone seemed to be surprised but Jounouchi paused while the others came up. "Jounouchi, you can't take her challenge. I mean--." Honda started and she considered smacking some sense into him, Bakura and Mazaki. Really, she wasn't that weak of a duelist!

Not as strong as Yugi, or even Kaiba, but not as weak as she had been either.

"Shut up," she said, "Okay then, Mai, I'll take you on."

"Yugi, talk some sense into her!" Mazaki said, "I mean, she ca--."

Jounouchi looked over at Yugi and that cut off Mazaki and the rest.

"So, are you going to take it, Yugi?" she asked simply and waited for his answer.

"Jounouchi…do your best."

Everyone seemed scared and at those words Jounouchi smiled at him. At least he understood what she was thinking.

"I can't back down from this," she told them, "If I do that now, I'll always see myself as a coward."

The other three were quiet and Mai said, "This way, then."

The space was 3-D, which she found kinda cool at first, but what she wasn't so happy about was when Mai put down her cards and said she was psychic and knew which cards she had down.

_Oh fun_.

Jounouchi didn't believe in real psychics (she chose to ignore the fact that she had been the one to suggest they go to the false prophet in their school) unless they had a Millennium Item. And either way, she didn't believe it could be real for someone like her. She wanted the money to go around the world and buy things.

"It's a stupid reason, I see," she had told Mai, and the older blond had yelled at her, asking why she was there.

"I'm here to save a life," Jounouchi had replied, and with that they had begun the duel.

* * *

Her first attack had not exactly gone as planned, but she had more cards and more chances to take on Mai, so she had to think of something and quick before she lost. 

Unluckily what was pissing off her off was the fact that somehow Mai was reading her cards without looking at them, so she wasn't exactly thinking things through.

She needed to do that more often.

"C'mon, Jounouchi, you--."

Mai turned and looked over at Mazaki before pointing, saying, "You, didn't you say 'If we shout, the duelist will hear our feelings and that will make them win'? Then do it now, make this wimp win! Let me see you do it!"

Mazaki was speechless and Jounouchi looked down.

_Can I win? With or without their words…can I win?_

She didn't care what Mai had said, what caught her ears was what Yugi yelled.

"I can make Jounouchi win, and with one word!" she looked at him and he said to her, "Jounouchi, this is a riddle, answer it. What is 'something you can show, but you can't see'?"

_Why are you asking me a riddle I asked you? _she thought as she closed her eyes, unable to figure it out, unable to truly understand the truth behind that riddle, _I can't understand it. I can't give you the answer beyond what I already told you. I'm sorry…Yugi, Shizuka…_

Darkness was around her and she couldn't see. This was what would happen to her sister.

Then she smelled it. The perfume she thought that Mai had been wearing was really multiple ones…no, she wasn't wearing more.

"I got it," she said suddenly, "I know your card trick!" Mai blinked and Jounouchi smiled. "You put on different perfumes on them, and that way you can tell which one is which. You can see the cards, but not the smell." She smirked as Mai showed her surprised. "Got ya, Oba-san…"

"WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME? It doesn't matter what you figure out, I still can defeat you! It would take you a hundred years to defeat me!"

Jounouchi smiled and sat back down, "I think that as long as I have my friends nearby, I could take you up on that hundred years."

She smiled and played a card that Yugi had given her, but it seemed Mai wasn't going to give up just because Jounouchi figured out her secret.

* * *

_--"Hey, I remember this box," Jounouchi said when she saw the golden box with the weird eye on it._

"_I keep my important cards in here," Yugi told her with a smile, pulling out a few, "Here, I think these will work really well in your deck."_

_She started to say something but stopped when Yugi practically shoved the cards into her hands. "I'm not letting you say no."_

_She smiled then and finally asked, "How's the other you?"_

_He was quiet for a moment then said, "He's…been quiet for a while. I think he blames himself for what happened."_

_Jounouchi sighed and sat down, leaning against the bed, "I sometimes wonder about him."_

_Yugi paused and looked down as Jounouchi put the cards into her deck and then he looked over at her. She blinked at him. "What is it, Yugi?"--

* * *

_

There were two cards he gave her. One was Baby Dragon…

_And when you combine it with Time Wizard, Baby Dragon becomes an adult. I need to have it be an adult…and everything on the board will be affected, even her Harpy Ladies…_

She realized what was needed, then, and looked down to her deck. It was her turn, and she only needed one card and this whole thing would end. She could do it.

_Please let me draw the right card._

She closed her eyes and drew the card, holding it up briefly before peeking with one eye.

_I love it when I get luck like this._

"I play Time Wizard!" Mai looked confused and Jounouchi explained, "By combining the Time Wizard with Baby Dragon, it moves time forward a hundred years and turns it into an adult! So go, Time Wizard, Time Magic!"

There was a quick flash on the board and the Baby Dragon was now Thousand Dragon.

"So what?" Mai said, "My Harpy Lady Sisters are still stronger. Now, sis--WHAT?"

Looked like they had grown old and wrinkled and Jounouchi had to blink. She expected some change, but this was--well, she didn't know what to say about this…

Still, she might as well take the win. "All right, then, go Thousand Dragon! Thousand Nose Breath!"

The Harpy Ladies were gone and Mai was down to no life points.

Jounouchi looked over and smiled at Yugi, who gave her a thumb's up, and she stood up, the new star chip in her glove and she said simply, "Hey Mai, I might not be a 'true' duelist, but I do know one thing that doesn't change after 100 years…"

"What?" she asked.

"It's something you can show, but you can't see."

With that, she walked out of the box and Yugi gave her a look as they walked off.

"What?"

"Did you just say what I think you said?"

She gave him a sideways glance and smiled. "If she can figure it out, then I'll answer that. If not…well, maybe I'll have to tell her what it means too."

_Part 5: Heart's Duel_

The duel of Yugi against Kajiki Ryouta had been interesting, and she wondered briefly if he really liked waiting until the very last minute to win. Seriously, it was starting to make her worry.

Still, he had won more star chips and now had five, while Jounouchi herself had only two still.

As they wandered off, they heard someone yelling and walked over to where the sound was coming from. One of Pegasus' goons, the guy who looked familiar from the boat tour, was holding one of the duelists who no longer had any star chips.

From what the boy was arguing, his star chips had been stolen by some kid in a bandana. Jounouchi had gone up and asked, then after saying she would go find the star chips and stolen cards for the kid (and telling the man if he was a 'real man' he'd leave the kid here until she found them), she headed off, but not before saying she's take half the star chips as payment.

She may be generous, but hell, she also needed those chips too…

They walked off but after a while found not hide nor hair of the kid. They did spot a boat with the duelists who had lost rowing off, and also spotted the kid she was supposed to help.

Whoever that guy was, a world of hurt was going to come upon him next time she saw him.

There was a rustle from the bushes and a short kid with a bandana came out, his voice muffled as he said Yugi's name.

Jounouchi was ready to grab him, but Yugi stopped her. "You want to challenge me?" he asked the boy. The kid nodded, and Yugi said, "Very well, there's a duel box over there. Come with me."

The kid walked over and sat down opposite Yugi, offering up five star chips but not from a duel glove.

So he, like Jounouchi, wasn't an official participant, and therefore probably was the thief. Why Yugi was playing him was beyond her.

"Maybe," Mazaki said, "he knows who it is…"

The cards pulled out were not that good, and the kid really sucked when it came down to it. He seemed to have the wonderful strategy of pull out and put it on the board in attack in the hopes that he could get in a shot at Yugi. 

Even _Jounouchi _wasn't that bad.

The kid finally panicked and ran, grabbing the ten star chips on his way out but Yugi was quicker. He caught the thief's wrist and the kid let out a now-familiar voice from underneath the bandana.

"Let me go--."

"I knew it," Yugi said, pulling off the beanie and bandana to reveal Kaiba Mokuba.

* * *

Kaiba Seto was not a kid that Jounouchi thought she could easily forget, nor was his brother. The story had followed something close to her own life, but with major differences: Kaiba got to keep Mokuba…she never got to see Shizuka. 

Mokuba, it seemed, had not come there for revenge against Yugi, though his brother was still in the same condition as before. It seemed, though, that because he had lost, KaibaCorp stock had dropped and a group of men known as the Big Five were now going to give the company over to Pegasus, but only if he defeated Yugi.

There were three men in her life whom she had low opinions for. Pegasus was currently at the bottom and heading lower. Hirutani was second only because he actually grew some sense and left town after the last incident. Kaiba was highest so far, but that didn't make him any better then the others.

The one thing that brought him down was the incidents in 'Death-T', mostly the ending to the duel between Yugi and Mokuba.

However, Mokuba's plan made sense in his own thoughts, and she supposed that was what counted. However, it turned out he had not come to the island of his own steam: the Big Five had needed a key that Mokuba, to protect his brother, had swallowed. When he had gotten the chance, he had run off to stop Yugi from completely dueling.

_Kaiba-baka,_ she thought while being grossed out by the fact that Mokuba was being bathroom-monitored because of the key, _you don't deserve Mokuba, the way you treated him._

Still, Yugi promised Mokuba he would defeat Pegasus, and Mokuba had finally given the shadow of a smile and started to hand back Yugi's star chips when idiot in need of a beating appeared.

* * *

_He doesn't--_

The puppet looked like Kaiba and the ventriloquist was using something like Kaiba's voice to throw Yugi off.

_He doesn't deserve--_

The cards had to have been stolen, and Mokuba…and Mutou-san…they were counting that Yugi didn't lose this duel. He couldn't be disqualified.

"You said Nii-sama would come back! You did! You promised! So he can't be dead…because he has to come back! I've waited and waited for him! Where is he, Yugi?"

_Kaiba-baka…_

She looked back at the duel as a second Blue Eyes came out but then stopped in mid-attack.

It seemed to look at Yugi and then disappear slowly.

_Yugi…_

_Who is that?_

_What happened? Who is playing my card?_

Jounouchi blinked before she saw Yugi's resolve and anger reappear. It hadn't appeared for a while and she was sure that this man's 'playing' with Kaiba's soul was the reason for it.

Then she saw it. For a second, she saw Kaiba, and felt her heart flutter…

_No…I can't…I can't…I can't like Kaiba!

* * *

_

She looked over at the duel box were Mai and her 'slave' Dinosaur Ryuzaki were heading to and looked over at Yugi. She knew what was going to happen this duel.

She was going to get into a spot. He was going to tell her something. It would help her out. She would then win and the star chips--

--would not feel like her own.

"I have a favor to ask," she said and he looked at her before nodding.

"Don't tell me anything this duel. Don't give me any advice at all."

He looked at her and the others once more brought up protests.

"I thought about it, even with a part of me asking what I'm doing. But the truth is…if I don't at least win one game on my own, these won't be my star chips. I have to win on my own, because Shizuka and I promised each other. Whatever I can do, she can do. If I can win on my own, so can she, and if I do that here and now, I'll just know she's capable of it."

He gave her his know-it-all grin before suddenly, Yugi was back to 'normal'. He smiled widely at her and she smiled back.

_Thank you…both of you._

Yugi smiled at her and she walked into the booth with more confidence, but not a lot more. Part of her was worried, not having the spirit there for the first time, but she had said what she had wanted to say and was going to stand by it.

Mazaki, Honda and Bakura's protests aside.

Why Mai wasn't going to fight her again was beyond her, but then again Jounouchi didn't know the blond that well. Her comment about wanting to go around the world had simply meant her reasons for coming to the duel was not as complicated as hers or Yugi's. She was, instead, one of the ones who had been chosen by Pegasus to present a challenge to Yugi, and also as a reason for him to show himself as the Duelist King.

As it was not all of her thoughts were just on the blond or the current duel. Her confused feelings for Kaiba continually resurfaced, as if he was getting closer and she would have to deal with them at one point in the near future. This didn't settle well for her.

The playing field on her side was good for her and Ryuzaki's was good for him. Still, she had a tough time as he pulled out stronger dinosaurs from his deck and her own cards, while warriors who got a level-up from the field, didn't seem to stand a chance. Even her own Thousand Dragon combo was squashed…literally.

_I should've put more thought into that move._

She looked down at one point and out of the corner of her eye saw Yugi walk up to the box and put both hands on the glass, as if going to say something. His eyes then went blank, and she could see a vague outline of the other Yugi at his shoulder.

She turned back to the duel. She was going to win on her own, she was going to figure these things out and not need Yugi or his other self to tell her.

She could do this. If she cleared this, she would be closer to helping Shizuka. If she could defeat this boy in front of her…she could face up against some of the other duelists, maybe even…

Maybe…

First, though, she had to win.

The next card was Flame Swordsman, a card she was fond of and who, with the power of fire, could at least stand up against the dinosaurs that Ryuzaki was pulling out. Face-down on the table was her Time Wizard, but she didn't know what else it could do at this point in time, she only knew that if used with Baby Dragon it moved time forward or backward to make Baby Dragon an adult.

Still, the card was face down so not being used at this point in time. She hoped she could figure it out, and if not she hoped that she could do some damage with the Flame Swordsman for the time being.

The damage, like Ryuzaki's had been, was heavy and she was more then happy to give it to him.

Then Ryuzaki pulled out a huge, dangerous looking dragon which hit her Flame Swordman and got her down to 65 Life Points.

The inner voice which had asked her what the hell she was doing when she asked Yugi to not help her was now saying something about how she 'told her so'.

She drew a card and sighed, realizing it wasn't really good enough. What could she do? How was she going to win?

Was she going to lose, and thus lose Shizuka's chance?

Ryuzaki then said something about taking a card from the losers deck. "Jounouchi, if I win, I'm taking Time Wizard!"

_Time--oh yeah…_

"I'll wager my Red Eyes Black Dragon! It should be worth it to you, it's worth a few hundred thousand yen!"

She blinked, then realized how important this card might be.

_Yugi wouldn't have given it to me unless it was worth something…unless he knew that something big might come from it. I have to take that chance._

"Okay then," she said, noticing Mai and Ryuzaki arguing, "I'll put this card in defense mode, and bring up Time Wizard!"

The arguments stopped and she noticed the small spinner on the top of Time Wizard's wand. The Roulette of Time…"It's started. If I win, 'Time Magic'. If I lose, 'Self-destruct'."

The roulette spun and everyone held their breath until it finally slowed then stopped completely on 'Win'.

"I did it!" she said as Time Magic activated and the dinosaurs became fossils and Ryuzaki's life points went to down to zero.

She looked over and smiled at Yugi. Even if someone would say it was luck, even if it wasn't on her own steam completely, she had won, and she had gotten a rare card out of it too. With a smile she took the Red Eyes and walked out, now with four star chips.

_I can do this on my own._

She hugged Yugi and winked at him, silently telling him that they would talk later on…

* * *

--"_Jounouchi…do you…like me?"--_

_I can't be in love with Kaiba Seto because…_

_--She blinked at him and said, "Yugi…what--."_

"_Am I…can I…Anzu and I are friends now, and she seems to like Bakura, but…can I be liked in…in that way?"--_

_Because…_

_--Her smile turned warm and she leaned over. Yugi's amethyst eyes blinked only once before her lips met his and she closed her eyes, feeling the warmth of his lips and knowing that he was blushing, that his heart was pounding and also somehow knowing his eyes were open still._

_She pulled away, and he looked at her before she said, "You don't like me like that, do you, Yugi?"_

"_I…"_

_At his blush and inability to voice anything besides a slight stutter, she smiled and finally said, "Don't worry about it, Yugi. No matter what you decide, we're friends, and even if it's not me that you choose," she shrugged. "I don't mind, really. I'll stand by you as a friend."_

"_So you…you don't…"_

"_I'm still considering that as well, you know. No matter what the outcome, we're still friends. Why wouldn't we be?"_

_Finally, almost shyly, Yugi smiled at her.--_

_Because I haven't completely decided if I like Yugi or not.

* * *

_

"I'm hungry!"

It was sometime since they had seen any duelists, and night had fallen. Since the last duel against Ryuzaki as well, Yugi had stayed…well, Yugi, and now with a stomach gurgling and thoughts turning towards potato chips instead of star chips, Jounouchi and the others were seriously considering bringing something to eat next time they went anywhere.

Honda had serious consideration of a book he had brought about mushrooms that were safe to eat, and the rest of the guys were obviously considering it as well.

"You look hungry," a familiar voice said, and the group turned to see Kujaku Mai--eating a candy bar.

The group started drooling as the sight and Mai smiled at them. "Hey, Jounouchi, trade you this walnut chocolate bar for a star chip."

"You're kidding, right?" Jounouchi asked, "I'm hungry but I'm not desperate."

"Good, I'm glad you're not that lousy of a duelist. Listen," she smiled at them, "how about we call a ceasefire for tonight? We can't always be duelists."

Yugi smiled and said, "You're right! I'm tired of the duels for today."

Mazaki looked ready to say something when Mai held up a full bag. "You guys didn't bring any food, did you? I have enough for all of us if you want to cook it and share."

The bag seemed stuffed with everything that was needed for camping, and the group smiled at her. She said simply, "Well, since I brought the food, you guys have to cook it."

Bakura and Yugi jumped on the job while Jounouchi and Honda got the water. When they came back Mai offered Jounouchi and Mazaki use of a portable shower she had, if they got more water and heated it up. Jounouchi had brought back enough with her own load and Honda's, so while Bakura and Yugi cooked, Jounouchi and Mazaki took separate showers, Mai keeping a 'peeping Tom' watch.

The food was delicious and the group talked and laughed about stuff, Mai seeming to get into it, though she still seemed to feel like an outsider.

She also was still serious about dueling, even after Yugi tried to give some happy thoughts at the fact that Mai had eight star chips already.

Everything done with, Mai offered that Mazaki and Jounouchi stay in the tent with her, having heard that there was some 'creepy guy' wandering around. Mazaki said she had to speak with Bakura about something (Bakura went red) and Jounouchi said she just had to get into a quick change of clothing so she'd use the tent for a moment before deciding completely.

Mai gave her a few minutes worth of privacy before walking back in and shrugging. "That Anzu wasn't really cunning with her and Bakura slipping off to do whatever."

"She's not all that cunning when it comes to such things," Jounouchi pointed out, stretching a little, "for as long as I've known her, she hasn't been."

"And you?"

"I don't fall in love," she said, "at least not easily, and not quickly."

Mai looked over at her and then smirked. "You're lying. You're thinking of someone, thought I'm not sure if it's Yugi or not."

She wanted to change the subject and asked the older blond instead, "So, how long have you been good at cards?"

She gave her a sideways look then said, "I worked on a casino boat for a while, so I learned I was good at them. I saw a lot of men throw money at me to try and be with me, and I'd take their money, then wipe the floor with them using my 'aroma tactics'."

"So you started to hate them because of that," she said and Mai nodded.

"I started to hate people, and even if I won the money I started to get bored, so I quit."

Jounouchi leaned back against one of the pillows on the floor and sighed. Mai looked over at her. "So what's your excuse?"

She paused and looked away. "There are…reasons, but the truth is Yugi and the others are my friends."

"Have you told them the whole truth?"

Jounouchi's shoulders slumped and she shook her head. "No. I don't…it's not that I don't want them to know, but…I can't figure out how to tell them either."

Mai looked over and then smiled at her. "Well, you might get a chance. I told Yugi to go and wait nearby. All things considered, you should go and speak to him."

Jounouchi looked at her in surprise then smiled. "You remind me of a friend of mine, Onee-chan."

"At least I'm not Oba-san anymore…"

Jounouchi smiled and got up. "Either way, thanks."

Mai smiled back and gave her a thumbs up as Jounouchi left the tent and headed to where she had said Yugi would be waiting.

* * *

Jounouchi walked up and Yugi smiled at her and the next change of clothing she had. "You wanted to talk to me, Jounouchi?" 

"Yeah, I guess," she said, smiling shyly. Yugi knew this wasn't like her, but then again it had been Mai who said that Jounouchi wanted to talk to him, she just had to speak to her about something first.

"So…what about?"

Yugi felt his other self on the edge of his conscious and Jounouchi shrugged. "I guess whatever you want to talk about. You said you wanted to speak about what happened, right?"

Something seemed to change in the spirit's feelings and Yugi got a little confused. "Yeah, I did…do you want to talk to mou hitori no boku about it, though? I could--."

"Since when did he come into this conversation?" Jounouchi asked as she sat down next to Yugi, "Not that you two aren't close enough to being the same, but there's enough of a change that I can tell who's who. But _you _said _you _wanted to talk about it, not that _you _wanted me to tell him. Or do you?"

"Um…I…" Yugi sighed. "I don't know. I'm confused."

"Everyone is at this time. Anyone who says they know what they want when they're our age is either very determined or seriously misguided," Jounouchi told him, looking up at the stars. Her shoulders slumped at one point. "Well, I thought I knew what I wanted once."

"Huh?"

She looked over at him and seemed to mull over what to say before finally saying, "I had…someone…and for a while, I thought that was all I needed. Then they had to go away--." she stopped and sighed. "I'm no good at this. I wanted to tell you the whole thing, but if I did, you'd just be more worried about me or what to say. How about I promise to tell you the whole truth…my whole past and some of the whys, after this thing is done with?"

Yugi nodded and Jounouchi smiled. "That's done with--you wanted to talk about the kiss, didn't you?"

There was a sudden dark spot in his conscious and when he awoke, Jounouchi was looking quite surprised about something. Yugi blinked then realize mou hitori no boku was hiding and the feeling he got from him was…embarrassment.

Jounouchi looked thoughtful about something and Yugi wished that whatever it was she'd tell him about. Something inside of her head must have clicked and she started to giggle.

"What?"

Jounouchi shook her head and smiled at Yugi. "It's nothing, just something between myself and mou hitori no Yugi. Any--."

There was a scream and the two turned. "What the fuck--that sounded like Mai!" The two ran towards the sound to see Mai sitting in defeat in a duel box and a scary-looking guy look over at them before standing, saying he was going to take on Yugi next.

"Watch out, Yugi!" Mai said, "He's a player killer sent to eliminate players!"

"I just beat your friend there," the man said in a gruff voice, and both Yugi and Jounouchi looked over at her. The blond looked down in defeat and muttered, "He did. I guess I won't get to play you after all…"

Yugi's anger grew and he didn't need to be shoved back into his Soul Room. He almost shoved his other self out into play.

Shoving was not needed, both were ready to take this guy down.

"Don't worry, Mai," the other Yugi said after he appeared, "I'll beat this block head and recover your star chips!"

* * *

It was the first time Mai had seen Yugi change. Now that she had seen it, she realized that he was a completely different person. The one she had run into while dueling Jounouchi and the one she had spent some time with at the camp were like two opposites.

Mai glanced over at the Jounouchi herself. She hadn't been challenge yet by the player killer and Mai somehow knew that if Yugi lost, she would be next to go down. Despite winning by the skin of her teeth last duel, she had done so without Yugi's help.

_Something you can show, but can't be seen… _

That riddle had bugged her completely for a while, and while she had watched them she realized that it seemed to have multiple meanings. To Jounouchi the first time, it had meant two things: the scent on Mai's cards, and time itself. But scent and time changed in 100 years…

So what could it be?

Mai was going to figure it out and then tell Jounouchi what she had thought up. Ryuzaki's answer had been completely stupid--

_Something you can show-- _

Yugi was going to win back her star chips, he said.

_--but can't see… _

_You show someone something… _

"Go for it, Yugi!" Jounouchi shouted, watching as the two sat down and the player killer spoke about how he was going to take down everyone. Yugi was obviously making mental calculations about how many duelists there were and how many might have to be eliminated by the player killers. It also appeared that there was a reward for Yugi, though why Mai didn't know. The whole affair between Yugi and Pegasus was a mystery to all except those closest to him and maybe Kaiba Seto, but as he was in a coma so no one could ask him.

The new Yugi smirked and said, "I hate to tell you this, but I never lose, and the way you act just proves that you're a coward. I don't even consider you a duelist. For this duel, I'm betting all six of my star chips, and my life! You bet the eight that you took from Mai."

The Player Killer of Darkness, as he called himself, glared at Yugi and said, "Fine, but talk is cheap. But to ensure that you don't run--."

A wire rope came out of the large gloves around his wrist and went around Yugi's neck, the man saying he might strangle Yugi twice when this was all done.

Jounouchi's eyes went hard and she obviously was angry. Whatever happened next, Mai was sure that Jounouchi wasn't going to end up dueling but instead beating up the guy, if she could.

The truth was what Mai knew of Jounouchi was only in her dueling, and she seemed to be simple, a beginner. Why she was here was now obvious: she came here because of Yugi and his cause, and as well because of her own cause.

_--"I'm here to save a life."-- _

Mai found herself not caring if she got back her star chips or not, but Yugi's pride as a duelist, as well as his life, were at stake here.

The Player Killer played the castle that he had used to create the darkness which had defeated her, and Yugi played a monster in defense. The monster was destroyed. Once more he played another monster, but this time he had it attack and saw the monsters briefly before losing 400 life points. Jounouchi looked ready to hurt the Player Killer up until she saw Yugi smirk. He said simply to the Player Killer, "I found a way to beat your darkness! Your life ends in five turns."

_How could he know that? What strategy does he have? _

Mai had seen Yugi play, and knew that he was good. Despite almost losing to Haga the first duel, he had figured everything out and not let his true intensions show until the very end, when he had destroyed the moth with his Summoned Skull and Magical Mist.

Yugi showed the Player Killer the card and said that he would show him a 'true darkness'. Jounouchi looked over at Mai and asked simply, "Hey, just 'cause I'm almost a newbie I have to ask: is it okay that Yugi showed him that card?"

Mai thought and said, "It's not against the rules, but then again…maybe he's not just using the card to defeat the Player Killer. Maybe he's using something other then the card…"

"Like what?" Jounouchi asked, looking back over.

"What else can reach beyond the darkness? Yugi can't see the other player or the monsters, but what of his is reaching beyond that to attack the player?"

Jounouchi caught on and looked back, obviously thinking things through and Mai turned back as well. If Yugi could do this…

_Show me how you duel, Yugi. _

Yugi had said something to the Player Killer and for a moment his face showed fear and he was obviously starting to lose the cool he once had. Yugi was winning by just speaking, by simply being confident and saying these things…

"Has Yugi always been able to do this?" Mai asked.

"I haven't known Yugi long," Jounouchi said, "but he has. He's good at knowing when to say something and when to be quiet.

--_"Do your best, Jounouchi!"--_

"Still, this is a life-and-death situation, not exactly like what happened with the insect. I guess the insect thought he meant his cards."

Mai now saw it. Jounouchi wasn't in love with Yugi, either side. The other side, the one which looked younger and innocent, she had a caring for, a type of love that was different. This Yugi was her mentor and her brother-in-arms, so there was some love there as well but again, it wasn't the one where either would go out with each other, more where they would do whatever the other needed.

Mai looked back at Yugi's strategy and saw some similarities in both Jounouchi and Yugi's plans, but not always. Yugi was a much more experienced player who knew how to deal with spells and who seemed to know more about the opponent when they sat down then the opponent themselves. His attacks were also offensive, while currently the Player Killer was defensive, a fact which multiplied when he put in a Yellow Luster Shield to keep his monsters safe.

Yugi, very simply, called him a coward, and Mai had to admit she didn't know any guys with that much confidence. Even some of the men who threw money at her on the casino ships lacked his full confidence, as, to some extent, did Jounouchi.

Strangely enough, though, Jounouchi's strategy was still slightly beginner. She couldn't think too far ahead but was getting better at it, and some of her best cards seemed to deal with chance.

The duel was almost pathetic to watch after that. The Player Killer only thought of defending himself, and at first he seemed to think that he had won because Yugi had wasted a monster trying to attack the Castle of Darkness, but it turned out he was wrong.

Yugi stood and for a moment a golden eye flashed on his forehead before the Player Killer screamed about something and Yugi walked out with Mai's eight star chips.

"I can't accept them…"

She knew that she couldn't, somehow. Yugi had won them, but with a sudden yell the rest of the group came up. She had to smile.

"You guys always do things together, even say goodbye?"

The one named Honda looked over at Bakura and asked, "Hey, what time is it?"

"It's going to be 11," he said and Honda looked back over. "So then she can accept them as friends, right?"

"Huh?"

"You said that 'tomorrow we're enemies', but it's not tomorrow yet!"

She couldn't believe these guys…they wanted to be her friend…

"Mai," Yugi said, "You, I and Jounouchi came here to fight and win fair and square. People like Pegasus and his assassins aren't real duelists as far as I'm concerned. I don't want them to disgrace the honor of our duels, so please," he held out the star chips again, "Take them and let us see which one of us is really the strongest."

She continued to pause, still unsure. She saw Jounouchi sigh then give her a smile. "Okay then, if you won't take them, I have a solution."

"Really?" Anzu asked and, before most of the people could blink, Jounouchi had grabbed all eight star chips from Yugi, who showed surprise at this.

"I'll take them and meet you all at the castle," she said with a smile, "Thanks a bunch, Mai!"

This got Mai angry and she clenched her fist before yelling, "What the fuck? You give them back, you little--"

Without any protest and with a slight smile still on her face, Jounouchi handed them back and said simply, "Mai, they were your star chips. Whatever you do with them is up to you, but you have to understand…you can't throw them away that easily, not when they're your dreams."

Mai looked at her and then realized something.

Jounouchi and Yugi and she were indeed true duelists, and they had to battle each other to see who was the best.

"Yugi," she said, "I'm borrowing these star chips, and after I've earned them all back, I'll fight you fair and square."

He and the others smiled at her and everyone went back to bed.


	4. Blue and Red

_Part 6: Blue and Red_

Jounouchi was going to sleep, finally. She hadn't really been on camping trips so the forest's darkness kinda scared her, thought the stars were very pretty.

As she drifted off-.

"AHHHH! SNAKE!"

Jounouchi's head went up--and hit the tree behind her before she saw Honda scrambling away from what was, as Yugi held it up, just a vine. She glanced at Honda and muttered, "Way to go, Indy," before lying back down to fall asleep again.

Just as her conscious was heading for dreams…

"AHHH!"

_I have to move my spot_, she thought as she hit her head again and now saw it was Bakura who had let out the scream. The trio moved over to where the white-haired classmate was holding--.

"BAKURA, WHY THE FUCK DID YOU BRING THAT ALONG?"

The Millennium Ring was acting oddly, one end pointing to Pegasus' castle. Bakura finally told them that the reason he had come along wasn't just to help Yugi, but to find out the secret behind the Millennium Items. With a slight sigh and not wanting to get more involved in the occult, Jounouchi wandered back over to her spot, move a little ways away from the tree, and actually began to doze off.

She was almost to dreamland when a sound interrupted her, demanding her attention. She turned slightly, hit grass instead of an alarm clock, then realized it wasn't an alarm, it was a helicopter.

She got up and hit her head again.

"MOTHER FUCKING SON OF A BITCH, SOME PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO SLEEP!"

They went over to see the helicopter land and…

Out of it came…

Kaiba Seto.

* * *

Mai had heard of Kaiba Seto, but had never had the pleasure of dueling against him before he went into a coma after Yugi defeated him. She had to admit that he knew how to make an entrance, and obviously there was more history behind the group and the billionaire then she knew.

Yugi ran over and handed Kaiba a set of cards, which he took and finally said, "I will defeat you sooner or later."

Jounouchi, who had been standing next to Mai, seemed to be torn about something and now she glared at him. "You fucking bastard." No one could really stop her as she ran up towards Kaiba, yelling, "I'm not forgiving you for what you did!"

Yugi got between Kaiba and Jounouchi, making the girl stop short, but there was something else to this, Mai could tell. Something about the way Jounouchi acted…

"So you were there too?" Kaiba asked as the roar of the helicopter died and he smirked at her. "I almost forgot--."

That seemed to ignite more anger in Jounouchi, though, and she reached over to grab him by the collar and twisted it, causing him to look down at the duel glove.

"You're in this tournament too? Now I know the level of the competition."

Those words were meant to sting, Mai knew, but somehow that seemed to hit Jounouchi harder and she looked ready to slug Kaiba.

Honda pulled her back and Jounouchi looked like she was going to shatter, she was shaking so badly.

_It's not rage…not completely._

_What is it that is making her shake so much?_

"I'll fight you right now, Kaiba, duelist style!"

"Do you know what you're saying?" Kaiba asked, dusting off his shirt, "Know your place."

"I know exactly what I'm saying, you fuck! Get off your high horse and try me!"

_It's…_

Kaiba finally smiled and said, "Fine, just don't cry when I break that ego of yours like glass."

He knelt down as Jounouchi was released by Honda and said, "There's a duel box over there, come--."

"No, we'll duel here."

The group blinked as he pulled out something and said, "Don't worry, I don't intend to kill you here after I defeat you. Take this, it's a duel disk."

The three duelists of the group blinked but as Kaiba explained it Jounouchi seemed to catch on rather quickly before they stood apart and the duel began.

Jounouchi was okay, but her cards weren't as good as Kaiba's at first. She lost quite a bit, but was getting the hand of the disk it seemed and was good at tossing it out and angling it so the battles lasted longer or the attack was direct.

The only problem was that Kaiba had strong cards and knew how to use them. Jounouchi at one point slumped, as if defeated, and Mai got angry. "Come on, Jounouchi! Are you a duelist or what?"

Jounouchi turned briefly and cast a glare at Mai. "I don't need to hear that from you after that whole act a few hours ago, Mai!"

Mai blinked, realizing now what it was that had made Jounouchi shake, had made her say such rash things towards Kaiba and made her run up to grab the rich man.

_It's love._

"My next card is…the Red Eyes Black Dragon!"

Kaiba showed some surprise as his monster was destroyed and he finally smirked. "I said you couldn't give me a scratch, but I guess that counts." he pulled out his card and said, "But here's the card that will cause your defeat, and Yugi gave it back to me." The rare card Blue Eyes White Dragon came onto the field, and the force of the blast knocked Jounouchi back, with the group coming up behind her to ensure she was okay.

_She loves him._

Kaiba said that he would defeat Pegasus, and then looked over at Jounouchi before saying, "I hope that was educational, Jounouchi. With luck, or your friend's help, you might be able to win a few duels despite your incompetence, but now it looks like that false confidence of yours is shattered. It suits you to crawl on the ground! A loser like you shouldn't even stand!"

_Can't you see what you are really doing to her? Can't you see, you idiot?_

Jounouchi was shaking again, Anzu beside her yelling that Kaiba didn't know anything about Jounouchi or what she had to deal with so he should shut up.

"Yeah, she's hear because her sist--."

"Bakura, shut up!"

Everyone seemed to jump at the force of her words and she looked down as she said, "Don't tell him anything. He won't care." she looked up and pulled off the duel disk before standing up and looking at it. "So you'll beat Pegasus with this, huh? Fine. Go and beat him up, see if you can defeat a cheat like him. If you can, congratulations, you've saved us the trouble of it." She tossed the duel disk at him and it landed near his suitcase, where he glanced at it before she said, "You haven't changed and you obviously never will. Yugi was an idiot to give you any hope of waking up."

Kaiba picked it up and put everything back into his case before he said, "Did you just think I'd grin and take his offering of friendship?"

Jounouchi glared and Yugi looked down, as if defeated himself, before Kaiba looked over at Pegasus' castle and told them of the first time he had met Pegasus. Mai remembered seeing that duel on TV and recalled how humiliating it must have been to Bandit Keith, the losing duelist.

"I'm going to Pegasus' castle to regain what I almost lost."

Yugi changed again and yelled Kaiba's name, making the billionaire turn with some surprise.

"We too have things precious to us, and we are not going to lose them! I _will _defeat Pegasus!"

Kaiba paused then smiled. "Let me put it another way, then. I'm going to Pegasus' castle before you."

Mai watched him leave and as the rest of the group went back to their sleeping spots, she noticed Jounouchi looked…down…as if something more then her losing a duel had occurred.

She wondered briefly if Yugi or the others had noticed it, and finally moved to put a hand on Yugi's shoulder. "I have to ask you. Why does she hate Kaiba so much?"

Yugi paused and now she saw it. "You saw it, didn't you? There is more to her hate then whatever happened between you and him."

He nodded and she sighed. "Whatever the reasoning, it's going to tear her apart if she doesn't figure out her feelings soon."

"What do you mean?"

So he didn't see it completely…"Nothing. Never mind. Just look out of her, okay? She's starting to grow on me."

Mai went back into the tent and, before sunrise, left the group with a note and a few provisions she wouldn't need.

She would get back the star chips that Yugi had won back for her, and she would battle Yugi in the tournament.

_Who knows? I might also battle Jounouchi again too. Kaiba doesn't realize or see the truth. He didn't see it, and I'm not about to let him get away with that, if he is still at the castle when we get there._

_Jounouchi…I'll help you, in whatever you need, I'll help you show Kaiba your feelings for him.

* * *

_

She had been rash. She had wanted to tear him apart and kiss him at the same time. She had--.

Jounouchi awoke the next day with feelings more confused then before, and all of it was blamed on Kaiba Seto.

Then, when she had gone off to take a piss, she had been grabbed on her way back and all but knocked unconscious.

The place she woke up in wasn't the best of places, and the duel had not been going well after he played a card to bring back his dead monsters. No matter how many times she killed those bastards, they came back.

She looked down and then they just had to say it.

"Look at that, she's nothing but a loser."

_Loser…_

They had kidnapped her, taken out her Red Eyes after she had destroyed most of the life points of the ghoul in front of her, and now he called her something that only Kaiba should call her because he's the only one besides Yugi who had ever beaten her.

"Who the fuck," she said, her eyes turning nearly demonic from the scared looks of everyone around her, "are you calling a loser?!?"

Her strategy was ready, and she played her warrior, then her magic card. With the monsters having no attack points after her reverse of defense and attack, she took the ghoul out and turned just as she heard Yugi's voice.

"Hey," she said, giving him a thumb up, "I beat up a guy on my own!"

Yugi gave her a smile and she realized that he had been looking for her. She had been so caught up in the duel that she hadn't realized it.

_Kaiba is the only one who can call me a loser because he's the only one I lost a real duel to. No one else can call me that._

Bandit Keith, who had been the ring leader of the group, and the others walked out while she seriously considering hurting the bastard as he said he would go and defeat Pegasus.

_Lots of people don't like you, Pegasus. Maybe you should reconsider your ideas of what you're supposed to do.

* * *

_

Mokuba sat in the cell, looking down. His brother was still in a coma, and now the only one to save him would be Yugi and the others.

They said they would, and he had seen Yugi beat the man who had been pretending to have his brother's soul. He had seen the Blue Eyes disappear instead of attack Yugi…but what that meant he wasn't sure, other then his brother's soul had woken a little to show his disapproval.

He sighed and reached once more for the pendant around his neck which held the one picture he cherished the most, the one taken the day before they were adopted, the last one that had his brother _really _smiling.

Mokuba forever hated Gorzaboru for what he did to Nii-sama, and he didn't know what to do to change that. Now that Kaiba was gone mentally…

_I said I would watch over you forever, Nii-sama, and I will. When you wake up, no matter how long it takes, I'll be there_

_This is the last piece of your heart…and hold it forever._

He closed his hands around it and almost felt a pulse through it. Maybe his brother could hear him…

Mokuba let go of it and dropped down his hands again, defeated. _It's all up to them. Please, Yugi, Jounouchi, win for me, and for Nii-sama…please…_


	5. Labyrinth & Life's Value

_Part 7: Labyrinth_

They had traveled in almost darkness, lead by Bakura's Millennium Ring (which Jounouchi wasn't happy about) for a short time before they came to a room with a duel table and the words 'Meikyu' on it. Shortly after they appeared, two men appeared and challenged both her and Yugi to a double duel, something which didn't often happen.

Both accepted and bet the number of star chips they needed to make ten. Jounouchi had not pointed out that she had more star chips then Yugi, but that was mainly because he had given eight to Mai (they were Mai's of course) and because no one really wanted to duel the famous Yugi.

They sat down and the labyrinth appeared when one of the brother's played a magic card, and Jounouchi waited. To win and get out of the real labyrinth, they had to beat the two, get their monsters through the labyrinth, and pick the right door.

_As long as none of the monsters look like David Bowie I'll be happy.

* * *

_

The two brother's obviously thought they had the upper hand, but also didn't realize that she and he were quite good together.

As they played, their monsters working their way through the labyrinth and slowly taking out the various monsters and traps the brothers thought they could get away with, both thought and knew what to do.

"I have the Red Eyes, and with that we have the one monster that might be able to beat their new monster."

"Yes, but it's a flying monster, remember? I need to use a magic card and I need to get one of our monsters through."

"Well, since my monster just went to the graveyard, use Dark Magician and get him through. He's powerful enough to deal with the monsters, and he's your favorite card. You can do it, Yugi."

"We can do it, Jounouchi."

They finally played the magic card 'Polymerization' to create the Black Skull Dragon.

* * *

Kaiba had walked out and sat down, his anger still not cooled and his wish to put a hole through a wall growing as he waited for Yugi to come up towards the castle. In his hand were the five star chips that Mokuba had stolen to try and stop Yugi from getting to the castle and to stop Pegasus from taking over Kaiba Corp.

_Mokuba…_His fist clenched over the small pendant that he had awoken with. When his mind had cleared and he learned the whole situation, he had gone to change despite the maid's protests and found it around his neck. Curious, he had opened it and seen what his brother had left him. At the sight of the picture he had nearly cried, but steeled himself instead and ordered the chopper ready so he could go and get his brother back from Pegasus.

The key which unlocked a safe with necessary documents for Kaiba Corp was missing, and the file that Mokuba had left him said that it was with him. Since Pegasus hadn't taken over Kaiba Corp already, this meant that maybe Mokuba had kept the key hidden completely somehow, though where Kaiba couldn't think of other then--.

He remembered his past and some of the things he had done made him sick. What he had done to Mokuba…

Kaiba got up to pace. His thoughts went to what he had seen of Jounouchi and Yugi and his friends. Despite the events in Death-T 3, even their teamwork seemed to put them at an advantage, and now Jounouchi was there.

_Her sister. That was her reason for being here, wasn't it? Even if she didn't let the white-haired boy…Bakura was his name?…say it, that is the reason._

_We're both here for our siblings._

Kaiba tried hard to banish the thought of Jounouchi out of his mind but couldn't. When the had first met, a few days after the beginning of their first year in high school, she had gotten in his way of reading a book he found interesting and she had been slightly nice to him. One of the girls who had tried to be friendly to him and later gave up said that Jounouchi had been from Rintama Middle School and had a reputation for being many things. Supposedly she had run away for reasons and ended up coming to Domino High to add to the bully population. Before school had started, someone had said the wrong thing to her and she had broken their arm in two places.

But at the time, Kaiba had more important things to deal with...

Now, though, he thought back to the duel. True, she wasn't that good of a duelist, but her having that glove and actually having star chips meant that she must be good enough to come here and keep them. She wasn't as good as he was, but that wasn't a surprise. The only one who had given him any sort of a challenge was Yugi and his grandfather, and after that only Yugi had given him--.

Kaiba looked over and wanted them to hurry up and appear. He had things to do and he wanted to beat Pegasus so he could get his brother back. To hell with Yugi and his reasons, or Jounouchi and her reasons…

--"_So you'll beat Pegasus with this, huh? Fine. Go and beat him up, see if you can defeat a cheat like him. If you can, congratulations, you've saved us the trouble of it."--_

If he did beat Pegasus, would their reasons for being here change, or at least disappear? Would everyone be able to leave happy? He wasn't sure. All he knew was that Pegasus wanted Kaiba Corp and if he could make sure he didn't have to duel Yugi, he would.

_Tie of Fate…that's what he said we were, both straining against each other or something. He should've seen the truth. We're both ends of something that is the same and connected, bonded through something, and even if one of us fights the other, the truth is we're still around the neck of those who threaten us. Pegasus, this tie of fate…Yugi and myself…we're going to pull so tight that you'll strangle._

_Bet on it._

He saw the group appear at the bottom of the steps as he crossed his arms, waiting for them to come up. There seemed to be some discussion between them before the group walked up, Yugi in front and Jounouchi to his right.

The duel was going to begin.

_Part 8: Life's Value_

The setting was atop one of the castle's walls, a small space with enough room for just the two duelists and with a stairway leading up to it. Jounouchi, despite the group's protests, stood on the stairs to watch. Kaiba had promoted her from 'loser' to 'deadbeat' in his eyes and her look had told him if she could she'd kill him, but both Yugi and the others stopped her from that. He had long ago decided he would duel Yugi with the new Duel Disks he had created to show him how he would defeat Pegasus, and Yugi was quick to catch on how the game was played in 'Expert' mode after losing one card.

His look told Kaiba that he was getting pumped up, and Kaiba had to agree that he was too. Both were the best at dueling, both knew how to deal damage quick and think ahead in case of problems that might arise.

But both were there for the same reason: to beat Pegasus. Kaiba was sure that Yugi couldn't defeat Pegasus, but he could. The Duel Disk had been designed so that they were far apart, so there was a chance that he would be out of the reach of Pegasus' trick to read people's minds, and as well it hid the face and body of the opponent enough so that the trick may not work.

"I will bury Pegasus with these hands!"

Yugi gave a smirk and said, "Save your boast for after you defeat me, Kaiba!"

The duel began again and Yugi seemed to gain a quick understanding of the game before he attacked Kaiba's monster and even was able to counter Kaiba's attack with his own card combination.

Kaiba gave a small laugh. "Yugi…fighting you makes my heart beat faster."

Yugi smiled back and somehow Kaiba wondered why they weren't friends. They were rivals, sure, and in many ways they respected each other as duelists. So why weren't they friends?

_Because friendship is for the weak._

But Yugi wasn't weak…not with his friends. They forced him to bring up miracles, reminded him of when he might be going too far with something, and maybe even gave him good ideas.

_I don't need friends…_

Maybe he did…

Kaiba's attention was still on the game and not on these thoughts that were threatening to change his opinions towards Yugi and his little group.

He pulled in the duel disk and set about to trap Yugi, which worked and he smiled at Kaiba. "That was amazing…to trap me, I applaud you!"

That trap was only one of the two that he was going to do.

_Yugi, I'm going to join my three dragons together!

* * *

_

Like any of the duels that Jounouchi had witness, this one had the ups and downs. So far both opponents, though, were evenly matched, unlike the last few duels which Yugi played against, including the first one with the insect. Everyone who thought they had Yugi at a disadvantage didn't realize that he knew his deck top and bottom, and had hundreds of strategies for finishing them off, mainly because they seemed to depend on one type of monster instead of the combinations of monsters he had in his.

But any battle between him and Kaiba was going to be intense because neither knew much about the other's deck, and even if they did, they couldn't guess from first glance the way the other duelist was trying to get them. At this time as well, both seemed to be playing for a reason: Yugi for his grandfather and Kaiba for…

Jounouchi had to say for Kaiba Corp. She was certain that the thing he had almost lost was his business, not Mokuba. He hadn't changed a bit, the way he acted towards everyone just proved that and his arrogance proved that as well.

_Nothing's change. He'll never be anything like the one I knew._

_Never._

Despite having merged all three Blue Eyes into one large monster with an incredible firepower, Yugi obviously wasn't going to give up and after he drew his next card, a rather weak one when alone but which multiplied rather quickly and made up a good mine-field, he played three more cards which seemed to spell disaster for Kaiba.

Jounouchi was just waiting for Kaiba to admit defeat, waiting for him to turn in and admit to it, but instead something seemed to happen. He froze for a long time, staring at the decaying Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon, and Jounouchi blinked. For a second, she thought she saw Mokuba trapped within the Dragon, and a young boy (a younger Kaiba?) reaching for him, stopped short by the disappearance of his younger brother's hand. He turned to glare at his older version and suddenly Kaiba was out of his stupor.

_What happened? What did I just see there?_

Kaiba broke from the trance and walked back and stood on the ledge leading downward, saying that if Yugi attacked now he would kill Kaiba. He would jump and not care what happened.

Jounouchi's felt herself move up but she couldn't move too far into the game. How fast was she? Could she make it to save someone who didn't want to be saved?  
"Yugi, slit my throat with your card!"

There was a pause from Yugi's side and he finally yelled, "I'll do it, Kaiba!"

--_NO!--_

Jounouchi stopped short as Yugi, the normal Yugi, stopped his Celtic Guardian from attacking and sank to his knees, tears streaming down his face. Jounouchi felt torn as the last monster on Yugi's side was destroyed and he lost his chance to enter Pegasus' castle.

Mazaki moved past Jounouchi to be at Yugi's side with Bakura and Honda, but Jounouchi was still in her spot.

_I would've saved him--._

"I couldn't keep playing. If I had…Kaiba might have died. I'm scared…I'm scared of this game, of the other me!"

Kaiba looked over and said simply, "If you had had the cold-heartedness to push me off that cliff you could've won. Caring about the enemy's safety is the most foolish thing to do!"

Jounouchi felt her fist close at those words and Kaiba continued, "A game means conflict, a combat between two enemies! Do you know what God gives people in this world to play those games? It's a chip called Life. When I threw my chip on the board, Yugi exposed his weakness and lost."

Jounouchi moved faster then anyone would have thought, and before even Kaiba could blink her fist connected with his stomach and he went up a good two inches off the ground before falling down hard, winded.

"You stupid fucker!" She said as he slowly got up, "You think that when God gave you that chip, he didn't give anyone else an understanding of the value? Do you put so little value in that chip when others value it so much that you could throw it away so casually?"

Kaiba came at her and she had to silently admit he was faster then some she had fought but still making the same mistakes as everyone else. She caught his wrist as she moved and tripped him, flipping him down onto his back before letting go of his hand, knowing she had left a livid bruise on his wrist as a painful reminder of what he shouldn't try.

"Jounouchi!" she heard the others yell but she wasn't done with him.

"Who is left after you drop that chip down? Who is going to throw in their chip for you? Hasn't Mokuba thrown in his own chip when you couldn't and those guys tried to take Kaiba Corp from you and him? Your brother is devoted to you, loves you beyond anything, and is waiting for you. The minute it looks like you might lose, like you might have to depend on someone else, you have to toss your life away like it was nothing, like your _brother _means nothing to you? You don't deserve Yugi's mercy! You don't deserve any of those second chances you've gotten, and you most certainly don't deserve Mokuba as a brother!"

Kaiba looked up at her with a glare and the two glares met, colliding and just as strong as the other's.

"You," he finally said, standing, "don't know anything."

"I know what I see," she told him, her voice filled with venom, "and what I see is someone so scared to lose he'll throw away everything for himself. You said you're here for what you almost lost, and obviously it's not your title, or your brother, but your damned company, who is going to stab you in the back away." She turned and grabbed the duel disk that Yugi had gotten out of before tossing it harshly at Kaiba, the item falling a few feet from him. "Take it and go! Go save your precious company! We'll be right behind you to save Mokuba, since you're so keen on not living long enough to see him again or give him hope!"

Kaiba looked at her and the fallen duel disk before picking it up without a word and putting both back into his case before heading into Pegasus' castle with the ten star chips. Another man, Bandit Keith, followed him in and the group turned to try and find another duelist to play Yugi before the sun set, but it looked like it was too late.

Everyone was gone. Yugi was disqualified.

* * *

Jounouchi didn't know who to hit harder: Kaiba or the other Yugi.

The normal Yugi himself felt that because he came between the battle that was getting out of hand, he shouldn't take the star chips that Mai felt she had only borrowed from him to reclaim her time on the island.

But Jounouchi, despite her earlier actions and her anger, wouldn't hit Yugi. She never had and never would.

Shake him and yell at him, yes. Hit, no.

"That's enough!" she yelled, turning to grab Yugi's shoulders, "We're not talking about the other you and what he would do or what he wants! What do you want?"

Yugi started to look down and Jounouchi wasn't going to stand for this. "Why do you feel inferior to him? What makes you think he's a better duelist then you just because he can play dangerous games like that? What's precious to you?" She paused and sighed. "I'm just a newbie, I was a gang member and a bully. I won these ten chips on what must've been lots of flukes and just dumb luck, but I did win them. I thought that I would be a duelist then, but if it means having that big of an ego and that much pride…then I'm not a duelist. I'm Jounouchi Katsuya, first and foremost, and not a duelist. I'm willing to crawl through anything, to beg and steal, because if it gets that something precious to me back, I will do it. That is the type of person I am. I will do what it takes to help others, not just for my reputation or for pride. I'm my own girl, first and foremost, no holds barred."

Yugi looked at her and Mai smiled as she added in, "Truth be told, I didn't get these for pride either. It was because…I wanted to see all of you again. Being with you guys made me remember what friends and family feels like, and I liked that feeling too much. Even after everything I said, you're all still my friends, showing me something I can't see."

"Hey, you figured out my riddle."

The two looked over at Yugi as Mai held out her star chips. "So, are you going to take them or not?"

Yugi looked between the two and finally smiled before taking them. "Okay. Thank you."

Jounouchi gave him a quick smile, "Oh, and if your other side is complaining and comes out, realize that I am ready to kick his ass worse then I did Kaiba."

"He's not and I won't let him!"

Jounouchi gave him a wink then looked up at the castle doors. "Race ya all there!"

Her anger hadn't completely been vented yet, but was as she walked in and heard the guy who used to work for Kaiba Corp say that the others couldn't come in. Mazaki, Bakura and Honda were about to plead when Jounouchi, still steamed and ready to hit someone anyway, turned and knocked the man out with two blows. 

"There, count the stars around your head."

Mazaki and the others gave her a look and she ignored it, walking into the castle. The duels awaited, as did Pegasus and Kaiba.

_He's not the one. Kaiba-yaro…I don't hope you lose, for Mokuba's sake, but I hope you at least grow some brains about what is really important in this world.

* * *

_

Kaiba's stomach and wrist hurt, but he ignored them. Just as his words had stung at the mutt earlier, her attack had hurt him as well. He didn't realize she was so _fast._

He glared at Pegasus as he walked out and, like the stomachache and bruised wrist, Jounouchi's angry words still partly rung in his ears. She had chosen one of the harshest ways to tell him she didn't trust him and to remind him of what he had almost become during Death-T.

Pegasus approached and tried to make it look like Kaiba _wanted _to be there (it was far from it) before pointing out that the four finalists were already watching. Kaiba looked up briefly then saw Yugi, the one who had interfered with his duel against the other one, looking down next to Jounouchi. Jounouchi's honey-colored eyes were somewhere between worry and hate, but instead Kaiba gave a small smile at Yugi. Somehow, even after losing, Kaiba had known Yugi would be there.

_If I don't win, he will. Either way, Pegasus, you will not survive this tournament._

"Now then, let's start our little game…"

"Before that, where's Mokuba?!" He wanted to ensure his brother was safe, because the last image had boiled his blood and he wasn't about to let Pegasus get away with having his brother be somewhere else.

_I do care about him…I do need him…Mokuba…_

"Never fear, Kaiba-boy, you'll see him soon. Now, about the means of our duels…I have a feeling you brought some interesting contraption to duel with…something called a duel disk?"

Kaiba showed only a little surprise but his anger at Pegasus for all that he had done to Mokuba and indirectly to Kaiba himself caused him to glare instead of showing the surprise. He picked up the disk that he had played Yugi with and handed it to Pegasus. "That's right, Pegasus! We duel with this or I don't duel at all!"

Pegasus took it and looked it over before making some half-hearted attempt at playing it. "Hmm, you use it like this?" Pegasus sighed and said, "It looks exhausting…I was never good a physical sports. How about this, then…_I'll _fight you with the duel disk, but I'll use a proxy."

"WHAT?"

"Now, now, I'll still be choosing the cards myself! It doesn't change the fact that I'm your opponent, understood?"

_You rat…_"You'll use the duel disk and fight me one on one!"

Pegasus smirked and then motioned, "Now, as promised, I will let you see Mokuba-boy."

One of his goons came out, Mokuba attached by a shackle to the man's wrist, his face and clothing slightly dirty.

"Mokuba!"

Mokuba didn't even look at him, his eyes blank.

"MOKUBA!" he would maim the bastard for whatever he did to his little brother. "Pegasus, what did you do to my brother!?"

A guard was in his way and he found himself trying to remember all the lessons he had learned from one of his teachers about anger and how to deal with people who were blocking his way, like the current goon between him and the man who had ignited this new anger.

Pegasus smiled and held up a card labeled 'Soul Prison'. On it was what looked like a picture of Mokuba, but somehow Kaiba knew it was Mokuba himself.

"His body cannot speak to you, because I've sealed his soul inside of this Shadow card. The Mokuba in front of your eyes is just a shell, but he has enough volition to obey me…"

Anger was a moot point at this time. He was going to go beyond maiming as well when it came to Pegasus. He would bury the man alive. Horror writers would probably shudder at the evils currently playing across Kaiba's mind.

"If you can defeat me, Kaiba-boy, I will free your brother's soul and Mokuba will once more be yours…which, of course, brings us to the subject of the duel again. If you insist on challenging me with the duel disk, I nominate Mokuba-boy to throw the disk in my place."

He heard a gasp from above him but that wasn't really registering right now.

_Is he--_

_--"Nii-sama! Look at this!" the picture of him smiling and playing chess with Mokuba. He smiled and said, "That was fast."--_

_Is he asking me--_

_--"Hasn't Mokuba thrown in his own chip when you couldn't and those guys tried to take Kaiba Corp from you and him? Your brother is devoted to you, loves you beyond anything, and is waiting for you. The minute it looks like you might lose, like you might have to depend on someone else, you have to toss your life away like it was nothing, like your brother means nothing to you? You don't deserve Yugi's mercy! You don't deserve any of those second chances you've gotten, and you most certainly don't deserve Mokuba as a brother!"--_

_Is he asking me to fight Mokuba? That's the one thing…the one thing I can't do…damn you, Pegasus!_

"If you don't like these conditions," Pegasus said, still holding the card with Mokuba's soul, "we can go back to my original plan and duel my way…"

Anger wasn't making him think clearly, but he did know that he couldn't play his brother. Even if Pegaus would read his mind, would know what he was playing…

…Yugi won against him when the odds were against him. He was playing for someone just as important as Yugi's grandfather. He could win, and if he didn't win then maybe he would give Yugi a better chance of winning…

_No. I will win, I will bury Pegasus so Yugi won't have to._

"Pegasus, I will accept your conditions…but it's I who will win!"

Pegasus smirked and the duel table was brought out. As he started to prepare his cards he heard Yugi yell, "Watch out, Kaiba! Pegasus has a Dragon Clan Sealing Jar!"

While Kaiba hadn't heard of that type of card, the name was all he needed to know that it might cause his Blue Eyes to become powerless.

_Thank you, Yugi, but I and my Blue Eyes duel together, no matter what the other duelist has…

* * *

_

He hadn't done it.

"Kaiba's fighting for Mokuba, for his little brother's soul! He can't lose!"

Kaiba had proven her wrong, had proven that she had not been able to see the change that Yugi obviously had, or maybe also now just noticed.

He hadn't completely changed, but he was different too.

_Kaiba…for your brother's sake…win. For your sake as well…_

Pegasus had, at first, played a slightly amateurish game, but then he took one of Kaiba's cards by using the power of the Millennium Eye.

There are certain things that are fair and not. Psychic powers when used like this were not fair.

_Kaiba, I don't care what happens, but you are now at such a disadvantage that it can't be a fair duel. I don't know what you'll do, but I know you. You'll play to the last card, you'll hope to defeat him or use that Card Crush combo that you used against Yugi._

That came and was destroyed by Pegasus, which just made it even more certain that he was using that Mind Scan technique to know what Kaiba was playing. Kaiba stubbornly played a few more cards from his hands before suddenly discarding his deck.

"What the hell is he doing?" Honda asked.

"He knows Pegasus could read minds, or something like that," Jounouchi said, "that's one of the reasons he invented the duel disk, so he could counter it somehow or not be at such a disadvantage. He's going to just draw from his deck and hope for the best."

_Show him your anger, Kaiba…you and Yugi both…show him what happens when he chooses to anger you!_


	6. Anger

Yay to my first reviewer! Thank you for the vote of confidence, and to answer your questions:  
A) Yes, I am currently working on the Battle City arc of the manga/anime (more manga then anime), as I wanted an AU series with Jounouchi as a female Duelist. Sorry, all the other female Duelists get little screen time or end up being used as bait so often...  
B)...this is going to turn into a Kaiba/Jounouchi fic. Jounouchi's attitude towards Mai is more of a big-sister figure, or at least the type of girl that tomboy Jounouchi wishes she could be. No, she's not bi, but again, she sees Mai as a sister, so while someone could see it as more-then-sisterly, it's mainly sisterly.  
But she's not head-over-heels for Kaiba, she puts it up there with her girly attitude and his emo-like nature.

ON WITH THE FIC!!

_Part 9: Anger_

The duel had not been going good for Kaiba because of those Toons that Pegasus had played, but he got in a few good hits until his dragon was taken by the Dragon Clan Sealing Jar, and then all, if not most of his cards, were taken out by the Card Crush combo that Pegasus stole from him.

Kaiba looked over briefly at Mokuba, noticing tears coming from one eye. Part of his brother was there, watching…

_I'm sorry, Mokuba, I couldn't save you._

He wanted to look up to see what was going on with Jounouchi and Yugi and their friends, but he couldn't bring himself to look up as he played his last card.

_Goodbye Yugi…_

"Kaiba!" the two voices of Yugi and Jounouchi screamed as Pegasus made his final attack and left Kaiba with no more cards. Pegasus smirked and said that he must have known what was at stake…

A card came from Pegasus' coat and Kaiba didn't need to look to know what it was, where he might be sent to again.

_Mokuba_…_no, let me be with Mokuba…give me that!_

"Penalty Game! Mind Card!"

"Mokuba!" he screamed, reaching once more for his brother...

"Kaiba!" the two voices of Jounouchi and Yugi seemed to meld, the last thing he heard--

The world went dark…

* * *

_There was a pause before the other Yugi appeared, and he felt the anger towards Pegasus, bubbling over for more then just his own reason, now adding on Kaiba's._

"_Pegasus, I won't forgive you!"_

_The scene now shifted and he saw Bandit Keith walking by, muttering something about Kaiba and obviously Jounouchi and Yugi heard it. Yugi turned but in the same speed she had shown when Kaiba had insulted Yugi, Jounouchi turned and hit the wall, maybe an inch in front of Bandit Keith's face. The man showed fear as her eyes seemed to become demonic. "You will go down, Keith, and I will be the one who takes you down."_

_Then darkness completely engulfed him, and he was alone.

* * *

_

Mai looked over at Jounouchi as she and the others got up from dinner. Jounouchi was rubbing her hand that she had used to put hole in one of Pegasus' wall. Of course, Keith probably shouldn't have said anything about Kaiba, especially not after what had happened. Mai had been witness to it and to Jounouchi's reactions, as well as Yugi's. Obviously he and the other him now had something they were agreeing on, and that was how low Pegasus could be.

The group had eaten the soup only to find weird eyes in them that broke in half and had numbers within them. The numbers said who they would be fighting, and the pairings had been Mai versus Yugi (Mai almost couldn't contain her excitement) and Jounouchi versus Keith.

Mai was quite sure that Jounouchi was going to wipe the floor with Keith.

As they walked out, Mai went to join them and asked, "How's your hand?"

Her hand was red and Mai was surprised to not see any blood. Jounouchi smiled slightly, "Sore, but I've hit harder, so nothing too bad."

"What about you?"

Jounouchi blinked at her and then looked down. "That's another story. Either way, we should go to bed. It's gonna be an exciting morning tomorrow."

Mai nodded and saw Yugi wander into his room. She looked at Jounouchi. "Do you think he's angry at Yugi for what happened?"

"I think his anger at Pegasus is right now outweighing any other anger he might have, and some of the common sense. Yugi is angry too, but not so much at himself or his other self…more at Pegasus. Still, he isn't letting it overtake him like the other him is doing, but keeping his cool and remembering why we're here." Jounouchi paused and said, "Kaiba played a really dangerous game right before we got into the castle. He nearly jumped off a cliff to see if he could make the other Yugi lose. The other Yugi was ready to attack Kaiba, but Yugi interfered and stopped him from doing it."

Mai looked over at Jounouchi and asked, "There's more to it, isn't there?"

"I was ready to go and save the bastard. I wanted to save him so that, even if he lost, he would be nearby and able to save Mokuba. But when he won he said that Yugi was a weakling and that everyone had to be ready to sacrifice their lives…he got me really angry. I hit him pretty good and told him he didn't deserve Mokuba as a brother."

"…do you regret it?"

Jounouchi paused at her own door before saying, "No, I don't, actually. I think it knocked some sense into him, and me yelling at Yugi knocked a little into him as well. I wonder about those two, though…they're both so full of pride and will that it'll get to them if they don't watch out."

"What do you mean?"

"Kaiba is all about winning, and his pride demands that he win, fair and square, against Yugi, and not just win, but completely crush and humiliate. Yugi's fine without the crushing and humiliating part, but he is about winning for Yugi's sake. It's like he doesn't want to lose because he feels in losing he might lose something important.

"Mai…you're gonna knock him down a little from his high-horse, aren't you?"

Mai smiled at her and nodded. "Count on it. Are you saying I should win?"

"I don't know what'll happen, but I don't think you'll win. I do think you'll surprise him, though."

The one who knew Yugi the best had to be Jounouchi, Mai realized, and she knew that it was the truth, after having seen Yugi duel twice. Yugi knew his deck and he was confident, some might even say over-confident, but it was how he was. Due to what had happened his eye would be towards Pegasus, not his opponent. She would only be a shadow, an obstacle that he had to get over quickly.

_Yugi, I'll show you that I'm more then that. I'll fight you and make you think, and show you that you're not above a few surprises._

_Mark my words.

* * *

_

_--"I'm scared! I'm scared of this game, of the other me!"--_

_I scared him…I never meant to…_

_Aibou_…_I never meant to scare you so…_

The spirit sighed as he sat down on one of the steps in the labyrinth making up his Soul Room. Would he be able to prove that to his aibou now, though? Could he?

--_Jounouchi_ _leaned up against the wall and sighed. "I give up!"_

"_You shouldn't," he told her, "You're getting much better, at least you got in one hit."_

"_You say that like you didn't let me get it in."_

"_I didn't."_

"_Liar."_

_He smiled at her and shook his head. "Not about this."_

_Jounouchi_ _once more sighed and leaned forward now, looking at him before saying, "You mentioned wanting to talk to me about something earlier. What's up?"_

_He had almost forgotten about that. "It's actually about my aibou--."_

"_You have a partner? What's Yugi think about that?"_

"…_Yugi is my aibou…"_

"_oh." she blinked then seemed to realize something that he wasn't sure how to say. "OH! Wait, is this a one-sided thing?"_

_Why wasn't she this perceptive at Duel Monsters? "…I haven't told him, if that's what you mean…"_

"_you haven't told…" Jounouchi looked over and then she started to shake, not really containing the laughter that was threatening to break lose. He was starting to find this annoying._

"_Jounouchi…"_

_She shook her head, the laughter still barely contained and a small snort coming out before she seemed to regain some composure, though not a lot. The spirit was starting to get a little annoyed but Jounouchi finally said, "Well, you should tell him."_

"_What? No!"_

"_Why not?"_

"…"

"_Come on, there has to be a reason for it, and if you use me then I'm going to have to find some way of hurting you."_

_The spirit looked to the side and said, "No, it's also that he liked Anzu, but now that she's with Bakura…"_

"_And not doing a good job at hiding it, obviously…"_

"_he's confused and I don't want to add to that. Besides, we have to defeat Pegasus and win back his grandfather's soul. It's my fault that--."_

"_You start on that train of thought and I _will _kick your ass. It's no one's fault but that Pegasus' guy's fault. You shouldn't blame yourself for someone cheating and you not figuring it out, the guy was slick. So drop it."_

_The spirit knew what Jounouchi could do and wouldn't put it past her to find a way to hurt him for continuing. She was right, as well, but he somehow couldn't completely admit it._

"_So you like Yugi and don't want to tell him?"_

_He nodded and she finally nodded back. "Promise I won't tell him, but you have to anyway. Hearing it from me won't do him any good anyway, but still you have to tell him one day."_

"_When I'm ready."_

_She smiled at him and laid down on the ground. "I hope for both your sakes it doesn't take too long for you to get ready, mou hitori no Yugi."--_

He had to apologize to aibou. It was the only thing to do. But how? He and his aibou shared a body, and a slight connection, but while he was able to communicate and take over the body, his aibou had none of those skills. He was just a boy...

And his presence caused his aibou to be the target of danger. He couldn't let that happen anymore. He would protect his aibou...his love...with everything he had.

And he wouldn't make him scared of him again. He would never scare him again.

* * *

It was her day to hit things.

Jounouchi knew days like that. She had had a few during her lifetime and today was one of them. Earlier she had hit Kaiba, and just now she had laid in a head bang and a knee-to-stomach on Bandit Keith for even _thinking _of hurting Yugi.

He had punched Yugi and then gotten ready to hit him again, and between Kaiba's rudeness and some of the anger she still had from that, from what she had seen of mou hitori no Yugi's pride, she hit Keith a little harder then she probably should've…

Then she stopped, which wasn't what she normally did. Instead of continuing, she glared at him and said, "Run away, Keith. I'm going to take care of you tomorrow, when we duel."

And she would. Whatever the hell he had decided to do or why he was there was not beyond her, he probably had come in the hopes of stealing something, but to her it didn't matter because, truthfully, she only wanted to show that she was better then some cheating card-shark from America.

After Anzu and she ensured that Yugi was okay, Jounouchi finally went back to bed and flopped down. She hit the pillow a few times more, taking out a little more of her excessive anger, before finally rolling over and falling asleep, muttering the whole time about bandits and prideful duelists.

* * *

Her dreams were normally odd or pleasant, with a few nightmares only right before bad times. Tonight was an odd mixture. She was walking up a long line of stairs, which she walked up, and when she looked at a spot to her right she saw she was in front of Kaiba's body, laying there like a rag doll. She moved over to touch his face and noticed it was still warm before looking as his vacant eyes. She looked to either side, searching for Mokuba's body but couldn't spot it. Pegasus had obviously decided to not let the brothers even be together without souls.

There was another sound and Jounouchi felt herself turn to see Pegasus walk up, a new body in hand. This one was Yugi, her Yugi, looking dead, and behind him, being held back by some of the Duel Monsters that Pegasus had played in the games against Yugi and Kaiba, was mou hitori no Yugi.

"Leave him alone, Pegasus!" mou hitori no Yugi screamed, fighting and gaining only a little ground. Pegasus had been walking slowly before the ground before him seemed to disappear into a large dark hole.

"Sorry, Yugi-boy, but I really want her back," he held Yugi's body over the dark opening and now she started to stand but found she couldn't. She was trapped in the same room as Kaiba now while mou hitori no Yugi fought and gained ground towards the insane American.

"Pegasus, stop! This won't bring her back! Leave him alone!"

Pegasus said nothing and instead let Yugi drop.

The whole world went white and she was now lying in a large bed, the one that she had slept in while kept at Kaiba's mansion, and he was over her, his blue eyes still blank and obviously something here was right but wrong. His chest was bare and she was naked as well, and he slowly bent down to kiss her. It was so nice, so wonderful…She couldn't embrace him, though, and when the kiss broke she couldn't figure out why. "Kaiba…"

He said nothing, moving down to kiss her neck and then further, teasing her sensitive nipples equally but only with his mouth and not his hands (what was up with her not being able to move her arms?), causing her to moan and wiggle. Dream-Kaiba was really good at this, and he finally moved down from them, causing her to whimper slightly at the sudden loss of contact. She watched his head and felt as his mouth and his lovely kisses descended lower, to her stomach, and lower, into her naval briefly before it was at her hips, and--

An alarm that was quickly thrown across the room stopped the dream as he was getting to the best part and Jounouchi awoke with a slightly irritated feeling in her mind now. She shifted and found herself only beginning to become aroused, but she had to stop the dream. Damn.

* * *

After a quick shower and just as quick breakfast, she and the other four duelists were awaiting, hearing that the money prize would be $300 million American dollars.

Jounouchi didn't think she could count how high that was in yen, but she knew it was enough to save Shizuka's sight. She smiled and nodded. The money would be hers.

The first duel was between Mai and Yugi, leaving her to silently cheer for both sides and wink at Mai as she went to get ready for her own duel and to watch. Mai would obviously make it so that Yugi remembered he couldn't just go right through the competition to Pegasus and that Mai was still a force to be reckoned with.

Jounouchi was still slightly disturbed the first and second part of her dream, and with both Honda and Bakura seeming to have run off to who-knew-where, all that was left was Mazaki and Jounouchi herself. She looked over at Pegasus and remembered the portrait of the woman they had seen last night next to the one of Shadii. Had she been the one that Pegasus would throw Yugi into that weird void-thing to for? Did mou hitori no Yugi save him in time? She didn't know, but the last part…

_My sex-drive takes the strangest forms._

Jounouchi turned to the first duel, concentrating on that and not on her upcoming duel against Keith. That would be later, but for now it was Yugi's turn.

* * *

The duel started out as almost a joke.

For whatever reason he had, Yugi had at first tried to simply blow past Mai, and her words had stung him deeply that he slowly began to act like his old self as the duel progressed. Her basically taking out most of his favorite and usually strongest cards helped out on that too, but when she threw back the 'something you can show but can't be shown' riddle, it took on a new meaning. The first time, it had been from Jounouchi to Yugi, signifying the beginning of their friendship. Next, when Jounouchi had faced Mai for the first time, those words had allowed Jounouchi to add scent (Mai's 'aroma tactics') and time to the answer for the riddle. Mai had seen it as friendship as well as one more thing.

Courage. She had pointed out to Jounouchi that it hadn't been by luck which Jounouchi had won: Mai had truly played with all of herself and lost to another girl. She had gone into denial about it before she confronted her real self and realized that was the path of a true duelist.

It wasn't about if you could win, or how. It was how you faced defeat, ready and knowing that you couldn't win them all.

Yugi's face showed shock and she was sure he was remembering the duel against Kaiba. One had been too afraid to lose; the other had been afraid of the cost of winning that dangerous game. So the final answer was courage.

Yugi showed his courage from that moment on. Even with his life points so low, Yugi fought and with the obvious will of both Yugi's, he turned the game around.


	7. Friendship

Part 10: Friendship

After the attack by Yugi's Black Luster Soldier (Jounouchi remembered that he had pulled that card on her once before and she had simply given up at that point), Mai had placed a hand on her deck, signaling the end of her game. She hadn't wanted to see her Harpies hurt, and Jounouchi, to some degree, understood this. She didn't want any of her cards hurt either. The two which caused her the most pain if hurt were her Flame Swordsman and recently-acquired Red Eyes Black Dragon.

After that, there was only enough of a pause for the next two duelists, herself and Keith, to step forward. She walked up and glared as the sight of Bandit Keith yawning and with his feet on the table. Some nerve.

"Move your feet," she said, not really in the mood to beat someone up other then with her skills as a duelist.

He laughed and asked her to make him.

_Of all the fucking children…_

"That is a dueling field and I won't have you disrespecting it," Yugi said from behind her.

Keith snorted and said something along the lines of her not being a duelist.

Her current situation causing her to not hurt him was if she wanted to break his leg or knock him once more upside the jaw.

He then held up a card. "Remember this? You need one of these to show you qualify as a duelist."

She glared at him and reached into her pocket.

Nothing.

The other.

Nothing.

Panic set in and she felt something akin to anger and fear and frustration all in one hit her hard. She headed towards her room only to be told by one of Pegasus' men that she had five minutes.

Jounouchi broke into a sprint.

* * *

Anzu had gone and seen Mai, telling her the tragic tale of Jounouchi's sister. Feeling sorry, Mai had shed some tears when she saw it.

Jounouchi had fallen, looking completely beaten, and her whole body was shaking.

"Stand up!" Mai demanded, seeing the tears falling down her eyes. She knew what is was and she also knew that Bandit Keith was going to have his work cut out for him. She, like Yugi, could pull miracles at the strangest moments, and while her skill was nowhere near Yugi's, it was good enough to make most experienced duelists worry after a while.

"Save your tears for if you lose the duel!"

Jounouchi glared at her and turned her head away before Mai, sighing, took out her wet handkerchief and qualification card, wrapped within it, and handed it to the younger blond. She looked at it, confused, but accepted it and stood as Mai told her, "Anzu told me about your sister. Jounouchi, don't give up on your wish so easily."

Jounouchi looked at her, as if still confused, then Mai started to walk off when she heard Jounouchi gasp. She had found the qualification card.

"I don't need it anymore," Mai told her, "now go in there and win. I know that, if you do, then Kaiba will wake up for you. Consider it a kiss to awaken the sleeping prince."

Jounouchi looked at her with some surprise before smiling and running for the door, Mai hearing them being thrown open and that unspoken question and answer between them.

_Why did you give this to me, Mai?_

_You idiot, because we're friends._

* * *

_The darkness cleared again. Jounouchi was storming into the duel hall, a glare on her face but __something more behind it. She held up a card at Croquet and said, her eyes not off the man…Bandit Keith, his feet on the duel table, relaxing it seemed and unafraid, but now a little off by Jounouchi's appearance._

"_Here's the card!" she yelled at Croquet, "You satisfied?"_

_Croquet stammered, "Y-yes…th-that was exactly five minutes. You're safe…"_

_Jounouchi pulled the card back, placed it in her pocket, and her glare, the killer one which only she could pull off, fixed on Keith and his place at the table._

"_Get your fucking feet off the table, or I'll break you leg."_

_Almost reluctantly, Keith moved his feet and said, "Looks like I'll have to duel, but get this, chick. The moment you sit down at this table, I'm going to show you Hell."_

_Jounouchi smirked and shrugged. "Been there, found it nice if not a little too hot, and even if you do, I'll just beat you in Hell."_

_He was amazed at her resolve. Keith was…or had been…an outstanding duelist in America, the top one, before Pegasus had cut him down._

_Still, she sat down and the duel began, Keith starting._

_For a while, he felt almost sorry for her. The Machine deck which Keith was using was good, and it had caused her to lose her life points quickly, but she had come back with a trap card to even out the score easily. Just as quickly, she had played two more cards and her cheek and happy face seemed to be throwing Keith off, as well as the first trap._

He thought this would be a cake walk…did he see her duel before? Doesn't he know that she trains against Yugi Mutou and even put a scratch on me?

_Keith had only a small difference but somehow he knew this would make the difference when it came to it. Keith had fallen far since the duel against Pegasus, and now he seemed back for revenge. Kaiba had traveled that road, feeling the power from despair over losing and the want of revenge. Yugi, or the other Yugi anyway, had tossed him into darkness for that and he had come out, feeling different, changed. Revenge wasn't there, only the want to beat the other Yugi, having now found someone who could challenge him mentally and in a duel, someone who could give him the challenge he had sought for a while._

_Jounouchi was fighting for her sister, so hers was trust, hope, going for something. When he had dueled Yugi for Mokuba's safety from Pegasus, Kaiba had felt that strange hope and light, the want to get the right cards so he could win, and save his little brother._

_The difference though was that Yugi had been playing for his something precious as well, so the duel turned with each turn, moving to be good for one or the other._

_Keith then spoke. "Chick…you ever risk your life? You ever seen Hell before?" he held up his hand to his head, making it look like a gun._

_Jounouchi was silent and glaring as Keith told her that he had seen it, and the only way out of his hell was through Pegasus._

_Jounouchi waited for him to stop before she said simply, with a smirk. "Sorry to disappoint, but I'm going to kick you right back into your Hell. And to answer that stupid fucking question you asked earlier about Hell…yeah, I've seen it. I stared right at it until I thought I would go insane, and I turned around, flipped it off, and walked away. Now, take your damned turn and stop whining!"_

_The next monster Keith pulled out was one called Barrel Dragon, which acted like three Russian Roulette guns at once. Jounouchi's small army was destroyed. Somehow, there was no worry, as she glared at him and pulled out Time Wizard._

_A gamble for a gamble._

_It almost worked, and after she lost her gamble (though she did get in a good hit, he'd admit), she looked at her cards, drew, then placed a card face down and played her Red Eyes Black Dragon._

_Keith seemed to think she was giving up, but when she played her face down card, "Copycat" and turned her dragon into Red Eyes Black Metal Dragon, things looked up for her._

_He realized that against him and Yugi, she didn't stand a chance. But against everyone else…maybe._

"_You're a devil, Keith, so I'm kicking you back into Hell where you belong!"_

_Keith looked pissed then smirked and said, "I'll show you that an amateur like you with a no-strategy deck can't win against me."_

_She glared at him and said, "Two out of three ain't bad," she said in English, obviously throwing him off before she switched back to Japanese, "I'm an amateur, I'll give you that. I have no strategy past what I pull, sure. So remind me again why _your _life points are going down?"_

"_You bitch, it's skill that will win this game!"_

_Jounouchi turned her attention back to the duel, not to Keith. Obviously she didn't want to have to listen to him anymore then anyone else did._

_She attacked but then Keith pulled out a card and stopped the attack from destroying the monster. For one more turn there was some worry but she managed to get the Red Eyes to have even more attack power._

_The odd thing was the next move. Keith drew a card and Kaiba felt his spirit self glare. That wasn't from his deck, but from his wrist! The cheat!_

_Still, the two were evenly matched until Keith played 'Pillager' and took the 'Sword and Shield' card that Jounouchi had. Just as he attacked, she played a card, but he didn't seem to care._

_Until the smoke cleared and they saw it. The Graverobber card which allowed her to take the Time Machine from Keith's Graveyard._

_It appeared and she smirked at him, an evil glint in her eyes. "Well, if you can take something from me, I might as well return the favor, Keith."_

"_But…that means…"_

"_Yep, his attack and defense weren't reverse from last turn, so…Red Eyes, ATTACK! You're finished, Keith!"_

_He let out a yell as his life points hit zero and Jounouchi stood up, letting out a yell of joy._

Did you like that little amusement, Kaiba-boy?

_Kaiba turned and found himself glaring at Pegasus from his position._

I only wanted to show you that, because I felt it was only befitting. She put a hole in my wall because of you, you know.

_Kaiba couldn't speak, and suddenly he felt himself being pulled back into the card._

Night-night, Kaiba-boy.

_He was drowned in the darkness again._

* * *

Jounouchi had given up her card with only a small argument, one which she didn't even fully understand why she started other then to save the other Yugi from more responsibility. Between herself and the other Yugi, both knew that a fight would be pointless and, as he had pointed out, it would only serve to show Pegasus more of their dueling ability.

So Yugi had gone up to duel Pegasus after he heard from the late-arriving Honda and Bakura that they had saved Mokuba but been unable to find Kaiba, his body locked up somewhere else it seemed.

Still, Yugi had promised Mokuba that he would see his brother again, and from that, he seemed to decide that he would ask for their souls to be freed as well. The platform rose and the group headed up to witness the duel and cheer Yugi on. Some part of her wanted to go and find Kaiba, to search for his body to ensure that he would be okay, but she couldn't exactly leave either.

_Damn._

She hated it when things like this came up.

From their new vantage point, the group could also hear as it turned out the Honor of the King's Right card was for the winner only if they beat Pegasus. However, the other was if they lost…which was why it had no picture on it. Their soul, like Kaiba and Mokuba's, would be trapped within the card.

Jounouchi found a new low spot for Pegasus on her list of men in her life who had seriously pissed her off.

As she watched the duel, she realized she couldn't leave to find Kaiba. The same problem which Kaiba had faced was now facing Yugi, the same fate as well. But now, the fate of not just Kaiba's brother, but Kaiba himself, Mokuba, and Yugi's grandfather rested on Yugi's shoulder, not to mention the fact that if he won he would win the money that was needed to help Shizuka.

Everyone was resting on his will to win and not give up.

_Yugi, you can do this. You will not lose. I know you won't, I don't care about Pegasus' Millennium Eye or it's power. You can do this._

_You can do this._

* * *

He had screamed, hoping to reach his other personality, and finally he saw him enter the way between their rooms. Yugi felt himself smile. This was the first time they had met in their heart, and he admitted to having yelled many times before but found himself unable to reach his other self.

His other self looked surprised at this and finally asked why he had been called, as if he wanted to find out what this was about before they lost to Pegasus.

Yugi had gotten an idea, so he said it, "Let me help you! I promised I would, and I will! Let me defeat Pegasus!"

The other him looked down, saying, "But his Millennium Eye…there's no way to fight it…"

Yugi hated seeing his other self like that. He was the confident one, the one who usually spoke to him, and Yugi finally said, uncertainly, "what if he can only read one mind at a time? He read you, but not me!"

The other him looked surprised, then finally said, "Aibou, I need your help. Can you help me?"

He didn't have to ask. The minute Yugi appeared, he moved the Dark Magician, ensuring that Pegasus wouldn't destroy him, and heard everyone's surprise. He usually only dueled Jounouchi, and often left the rest of the duels to his other self. Still, he wanted nothing more then to help his other self defeat Pegasus. He…

Yugi stopped his thought, returning to the game as he drew a card, placed it down on the field, then tried to goad Pegasus into reading his mind right before he switched with his other self.

It worked. Pegasus had no way of reading what card it was because Yugi had not shared that information with his other personality. There was a way of defeating Pegasus.

Yugi drew the card again and placed it down on the field before ending their turn and his other self went into provoking Pegasus to attack by saying he had lost his dueler instinct. However, Pegasus played a card to dispel the Magical Hats hiding the Dark Magician and attacked with the Toon Summoned Skull. Yugi came out, turning over his two face-down cards. One destroyed Toon World, and the other sent the Summoned Skull's attack back at Pegasus and destroyed all the toons.

One obstacle down, and Yugi felt himself smile at that. He had helped out, and in a big way too.

Then Pegasus said he would show Yugi the 'respect' he deserved for having a Millennium Item, and their game would now be a Shadow Game. Those were the words Yugi dreaded. His other self had played Shadow games against numerous bullies and others, including both Kaiba brothers, to teach them a lesson and most has lost their grip on reality for a while before avoiding Yugi. What happened in them exactly was something which Yugi never completely remembered or understood, all he knew was that his other self was very worried for him. Still, they couldn't break this up. If they did, Pegasus would read his mind and know his plan. They had to keep up the mind shuffle if they wanted to win.

What had worried him more was the revelation that Pegasus had gotten his inspiration for Duel Monsters from Egypt. After going to the Egyptian Exhibit as well as remembering some of the things between his other self and Shadii, the man from Egypt, Yugi had suspected that his other self might have gotten some of that knowledge from Egypt. Still, he and his other self were unsure of his true origins so had not really spoken about it, not even to Jounouchi.

The world around them turned dark and Pegasus pulled out a monster called Dark Eyes Illusionist. With zero attack and defense points, it had to have a special ability so his other self played Curse of Dragon and Yugi, knowing it was risky, switched places quickly to draw.

"_In a Shadow Game, a player's willpower literally brings their monsters to life. If you lose the game, if your willpower runs out…you might die as well!"_

Yugi didn't care. He would help his other self as much as he could, as much as he could give to him so he could help him out.

Because his other self had been wrong. If one of them died, the other would remain, even though their hearts were so connected. But they would feel that loss, know that half of their heart was gone. He didn't know how it would affect everyone else, but he knew that maybe his other self had said what he had because it would comfort Yugi and the group…he didn't know. Still, he had to try. He had to do this.

_I can do this. I can help him._

As he got out, at first there was nothing and then he felt it. It was as if his heart was being squeezed, it hurt so much…he felt himself begin to sweat and still there was that grip on his heart, ripping into it…

His other self quickly pushed him back shortly after Pegasus had put a face-down card onto the 'table' and attacked with Curse of Dragon. As Yugi watched from his spot just on the edge of reality, Curse of Dragon was stopped and then a ritual monster called Relinquished was brought up, which took in Curse of Dragon. His other self attacked but it did no good, as Relinquished simply used Curse of Dragon as a shield and they took the hit. Then Dark Magician was taken in and used as a shield.

Yugi couldn't just stand by. He may feel weak, that may have hurt, but he had to help. He had to give his other self time to think up a plan.

_You're still too weak._

_--I want to help. Please, let me! You have to have time to come up with a plan of attack!--_

_You can't risk it, aibou!_

_--I want to fight! To the very end…--_

He took over, and felt the grip on his heart again, ripping into it, tearing it, gripping it and squeezing so hard he couldn't ignore it but he still had to draw that card, the one to defeat Pegasus with, the one which would help them defeat Pegasus for his grandfather and Kaiba and Mokuba and why did his heart hurt so much?

_Please, mou hitori no boku_, he thought as he placed the card face down, _use this card…to defeat Pegasus…_

He played Feral Imp in defense mode, and he saw Pegasus smirk before a light came and suddenly the grip tightened, ripped, he couldn't scream out or do anything, it simply seemed to drain him of everything and he felt himself fall forward before darkness consumed him, his will to fight it gone…

* * *

Despite trying to shield aibou from the blast, he only watched in almost slow-motion as aibou fell forward and into unconsciousness.

_No…_

--_Please, mou hitori no boku…use this card…to defeat Pegasus…--_

Then there was nothing. No sound, no movement. Nothing.

He hadn't protected him. He hadn't…

_WAKE UP!_

Nothing. Scared, unsure, panicking, the spirit pulled aibou into their heart and held him up, trying to wake him. He had to wake up, he had to look at him with those eyes of his, he had to--

_He's not waking up…he…_

_Calm down! He has to be alive!_

_I don't…_

Outside, Pegasus was gloating, which only set the spirit's resolve and anger even more.

"It looks like the 'other Yugi'…that useless roommate you shared a body with…couldn't survive the Shadow Game.

"His soul is dead."

_USELESS? DID YOU JUST CALL AIBOU USELESS?!_

_He can't be dead…I would know._

_I would feel it if my aibou was dead._

But he knew, some part of him did, that aibou couldn't survive long. Somewhere within, his will to protect the spirit was still up, and that was slowly leaking away as the Shadow Game continued and Pegasus continued to go past his defenses to see which card he had pulled out.

Still, he took over and felt himself shaking with rage, doubled now because this man had put aibou in danger, had dared to attack his aibou, had all but killed his aibou (_no, he's alive! _) and made him watch, unable to save him, unable…

"Pegasus…I…WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!"

* * *

Jounouchi was worried. She, like the others, had seen Yugi collapse and then had seen the other Yugi sit up, fire burning in his eyes and he faced Pegasus.

"I...WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!"

Jounouchi wanted to help. Mazaki said that they had to offer Yugi their friendship, their hope, and maybe they could save Yugi and help the other Yugi.

Everyone stared at him, their hope and will to help pouring out of them until they felt a part of themselves drawn in. On the ground, still trying to protect the identity of the cards within their mind, was Yugi, out cold.

The identity of the card appeared before them, and they turned when they felt Pegasus trying to see the card. Mazaki moved over to hold up Yugi while Jounouchi, the duelist and currently the second most angry in the room at Pegasus, took up the front, her glare evident as Pegasus tried to intrude into Yugi's mind again.

"Hell fuck no! Get out of his mind and don't even _think _of coming in here again!"

Her words and some inner power threw him out before they all heard the spirit's grateful tone.

"Yugi's going to be fine," Mazaki said when they heard the other Yugi's concern and hopeful voice, while Jounouchi turned to check and saw Yugi slowly waking up, the energy from his friends helping to stop him from descending further to wherever he was going.

"We're right by your side, man," Honda added, "Just focus on beating Pegasus!"

Yugi slowly woke up while the spirit set about to teach Pegasus a lesson.

It promised to be painful.

* * *

His other self had quickly regained his energy after the appearance of his friends and he had to admit, he never wanted to go through that same panic as he had felt for a few seconds, not being able to feel aibou.

With the final blow from the Magician of Black Chaos, aibou took his place to give Pegasus the final word. This was to show him he was wrong: aibou could survive a Shadow Game. He could do this.

Had he not been so insecure about it all, he would've kissed aibou right then.

"Pegasus," aibou said, the spirits of his friends and mou hitori no Yugi behind him, "we win."

_If anything, Pegasus' look is worth it,_ Jounouchi said as aibou came back in, smiling at his friends and his other self. With that he gave him a high five, and the others smiled before disappearing, Jounouchi the last to go.

_Oh, Yugi?_

_--Yeah, Jounouchi?--_

_Please don't scare me like that again._

She disappeared from his mind as well and the spirit told aibou simply, "I'll make sure Pegasus releases the souls of our friends and family. You rest."

Aibou nodded and the spirit once more took over, reminding Pegasus of his promise before Pegasus, defeated, nodded and said he would keep it. The two cards holding the spirits of the Kaiba brothers came out before a glow appeared around them and he heard Anzu say that the video was now blank. Both cards were as well and he only vaguely saw the souls disappear before Pegasus said that his men would get the prizes ready.

Then he said something odd. That all of the time he had worn the Millennium Eye, he had never seen a person with two souls before. He thought it was the power of the Millennium Puzzle.

"Who knows?" the other Yugi said, not exactly wanting to get into this conversation, "Even I don't know the full power of the Millennium Puzzle." After a moment he added, "But I feel some kind of force…some will…brought me and my aibou together."

Now it was Pegasus' turn to pause before he said, "You don't know about…the evil power hidden in the Millennium Items? No, not just power…an evil intelligence…"

Now the spirit froze. _An evil intelligence?_

He had to know. "Pegasus! How did you get your Millennium Item? Where did you get it? And why? Tell me, before I send you to oblivion!" That was the fate of those who lost a Shadow Game, but he had to know. Shadii had not told him enough, and he wanted to know, to see what Pegasus might know…

* * *

_Her name was Cyndia…_

"_You still here?"_

_And her best friend, a woman who called herself Julia Fogg, was annoying. She had come in with a woman with dark hair who looked at him and all of his drawings as Julia said, "Damn, you could eat once in a while. Even Croquet is getting a little worried about you."_

"_...go away..."_

"_Not a chance," she said, "Cyn would hate me for it. Besides, what use are you to the world if you're out of it? I heard, though, that you're about to head to Egypt." The woman to the side stiffened and Julia continued, "What's up?"_

"_I heard of their ideas about death...I wanted to see if I could be inspired."_

"_Uh-huh. Just remember to be careful."_

_He had and hadn't, and he had taken the trial of the Millennium Eye. For it, he had gotten his wish._

_He had seen Cyndia again..._

_And now, he would do what he could to see her again...even if it meant killing the Kaiba brothers to get their virtual technology, and destroying Mutou Yugi to gain the power to do it._

_He would see her again..._

* * *

As they waited for Mokuba to wake up, Jounouchi mainly watched the other Yugi as he stood on a balcony, looking out, his back turned to the group. He had not given Pegasus a 'Penalty Game' or even slugged him, but all things considered Jounouchi couldn't blame her friend. He had a lot of questions, and giving Pegasus a 'Penalty Game' would only confirm the 'evil intelligence' of the Millennium Items. If anyone could know something about that, though, it would be Bakura, not the other Yugi.

_The other Yugi isn't an evil intelligence. He does help balance things out, and he is a little arrogant, but not evil._

_Though, I guess, everyone could be…_

After Mokuba woke up and heard the news that his brother was on the island, Jounouchi said, "Yugi, guys." They looked at her and she continued, "I'm going to go and find him. No, I'm not going to beat Pegasus or Kaiba up, get that look off your faces! Just…" she paused and looked at Mokuba before saying, "I need to make sure he's okay, and that he gets out of this castle. It's easy to get lost."

The group nodded and headed out while Jounouchi walked the way her dream had shown her, turning at some steps and walking up to see a man starting to pull out something before she saw it was just a pair of keys. He seemed reluctant to open it before he noticed her and her glare.

The keys went in and the man, the operative who had infiltrated KaibaCorp, said, "You're free…Kaiba…"

He walked past her and she glared at him before looking over. What appeared to be a younger Kaiba, was standing there, pointing towards her as Kaiba all but crawled out of the spot and looked over at her.

"What are you doing here?"

"Came to make sure you don't get lost," she told him, "Mokuba's awake already and has your case. Come on, they're waiting outside."

She turned and then looked back. "What?"

"What happened to you not liking me?"

She turned and shrugged. "I guess I do but I don't. Hell, I can hardly make a sentence work when you come around, you think I can tell you what my feelings really are? Now come on, Mokuba's gotta be worried about you."

Now they both walked down, Jounouchi leading the way and Kaiba strangely silent but she didn't care. At least he wasn't insulting her.

* * *

They walked down, silent right before they came to the main doors. Jounouchi stopped and looked at him. "You first."

"I thought it was ladies first."

She glared at him softly and said, "It's your brother, not mine."

He only looked at her briefly before walking out with her and stopping at the top of the stairs, where he had challenged Yugi. Below was the other Yugi, Anzu, and Jounouchi's side-kick (Honda, that's his name) and there, holding his case, was Mokuba.

"N-nii-sama?"

He blinked, almost surprised despite the fact that Jounouchi had said that Mokuba was awake. It had been a while, and everything between Death-T and his loss to Pegasus suddenly mattered but didn't.

"Mokuba…"

The case was dropped and Mokuba, with all the speed an eleven-year-old would have, ran up the stairs for him, taking it two at a time, his eyes watering. "Nii-sama!"

"Mokuba!" He smiled, his face lighting up as Mokuba launched himself at him and Kaiba caught him and nearly fell. The only thing which stopped him was a sudden grip on his shoulders. Mokuba and he looked over and saw that Jounouchi had caught him and now pushed him up.

"You're heavy," she said, a small blush on her face before she headed down to where the others were, leaving Kaiba and Mokuba alone for some quick time together. Mokuba smiled and Kaiba, almost against his will, whispered, "jounouchi…"

Mokuba looked up at him and a small smile crossed his face.

* * *

"Are you sure about this?" she asked when she got down to the base of the stairs with everyone looking up at the Kaiba brothers except for the other Yugi, who handed her the envelop with the check for the prize money.

"You're the one who really won it, Jounouchi. You're the real champion of this island."

She gave him a small smile then said, "Well…crap, thanks. I owe you big time now…"

He smiled at her and winked, "Then you owe me…until you can beat me, that is. Then, we'll be even."

Mazaki then asked light-heartedly, "So what's your record, just curious?"

"As of the week ago and including this Kingdom thing…" she paused but had been counting, she just didn't want to say it. "I have 0 wins, 187 losses."

"I hope he's up to waiting for you to repay that favor then, it's gonna take a while."

"HONDA!"

The Kaiba brothers walked down as, for whatever reason, Yugi took back over and Kaiba thanked him while pointing out that his battle against the other Yugi wasn't over. She was sure it had something to do with winning a fair game against the other Yugi.

Mokuba, who appeared to have recovered completely, laughed and pointed. "We have a helicopter and you don't! Too bad…losers!"

She glared at him and said, "Just wait, Mokuba, one of these days I'm going to give you such a spanking…."

Mokuba moved further away at that threat and Kaiba just snorted. "Come on, Mokuba, those small fries can swim back."

As if on cue, the absent Bakura appeared and said, "Hey, I looked out from the castle and I didn't see any ships…"

"WHAT?"

As sad as Pegasus' story was, he was a complete idiot and a really bad loser.

Mokuba paused and finally said, "Hey, Nii-sama…let's give them a ride too, please?"

"WHAT?"

"Please…."

After packing themselves in the back, Kaiba had taken off and was currently leaning over the controls and looking extremely pissed.

"When we get back to Japan, we're EVEN, got it?!"

After a sharp turn that got everyone in the back pushed together a little more then before, Jounouchi spotted Mai, who obviously hadn't found a way back. The fate of Bandit Keith…hell, she didn't know where he was and didn't exactly care.

"HEY, TAKE ME WITH YOU!!"

_Jounouchi smiled and, not bothering to ask Kaiba, opened the door and kicked out the ladder, nearly losing her balance right before Mai grabbed it and proceeded to climb up. _

**Author's Note: GAH, I almost forgot about this story then remembered I have the story still. I actually have four...and I need to end the series. Thanks to my reviewers for reminding me people still read this! Promise another is coming up soon!**


End file.
